US Men's Volleyball Eliminated With Loss to Argentina

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The U.S. men’s volleyball team reached the end of the road in Tokyo.

Team USA fell to Argentina in straight sets on Sunday, finishing Pool B play with a 2-3 record and outside of the tournament’s quarterfinals. The U.S. had medaled at two of the last three Olympics and had not been eliminated in round-robin play since the 2000 Sydney Games, when the team went 0-5.

Argentina took the first set by a score of 25-21 as Facundo Conte and Bruno Lima each put six points on the board.

Down 1-0, the U.S. could not squeak out a contested second set. With Argentina up 24-23, Martin Ramos blocked Torey DeFalco on set point to take a 2-0 lead.

The U.S. had a chance to pull out the third set after taking an 18-16 lead, but serves were the team’s downfall. Team USA had four serving errors down the stretch in the final set, ultimately dropping it 25-23 once again.

DeFalco led Team USA with 13 points on the game, while Matt Anderson chipped in 11. Micah Christenson contributed 32 of the team’s 35 assists.

Conte and Lima combined for 29 Argentinian points, while Luciano de Cecco was the facilitator with 36 assists.

It was an up and down Olympics for the U.S. men’s volleyball team. The team won its opener against France in straight sets before losing to the Russian Olympic Committee in four sets. The team then followed up its four-set win over Tunisia with a four-set loss to Brazil.

Team USA was up one point on Argentina in the Pool B standings coming into Sunday’s win-or-go-home tilt. With the win, Argentina jumped the U.S. in the standings and into the quarterfinals. Argentina is seeking its first Olympic medal in men’s volleyball since 1988.

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