In addition to defending-champion USA, there are 11 other women’s teams competing for volleyball gold in the Paris Olympics. This is a look at each of them.
These Olympics feature a new and different format. Gone are the six-team pools, replaced with three pools of four each. The top two squads in each pool make the final eight and will be joined in the single-elimination bracket by the top two third-place finishers.
How is that determined? Victories, match points and set ratios. So every match — perhaps every point — is important.
These 11 Olympics teams feature three former NCAA players, a so-called Pool C “Pool of Death,” and perhaps its first European champion. The last team from Europe or nearby to win: The Soviet Union in 1988.
Pool A
France, USA, China, Serbia
France: First-time Olympics participant France, which finished 2-10 in Volleyball Nations League and will likely get swept three times, is the top seed, a privilege extended to every host nation.
VNL was France’s first elite level international competition since 1974. The team includes Christina Bauer, who signed with LOVB Houston, and UCLA product Iman Ndiaye
China: China, which won the 2016 Rio Olympics, qualified through VNL based on world ranking after a disappointing performance in last fall’s Olympic qualification tournament. 2016 MVP Zhu Ting returned to the team for the first time since hurting her wrist during the Tokyo Olympics and is still dealing with the injury. China’s left-handed outside hitter Li Yingying is a superstar and middles Yuan Xinyue and Wang Yuanyuan can carry their team.
Serbia: Serbia took bronze in Tokyo and is the two-time defending World Champion, but it skipped VNL. Serbia boasts one of the world’s most dynamic players in lefty Tijana Boskovic and two seasoned setters in Maja Ognjenovic and Bojana Drca.
Pool B
Brazil, Poland, Japan, Kenya
Brazil: Brazil, which lost to the USA in the Tokyo gold-medal match, has to be considered one of the favorites. Brazil, fourth in VNL, has a host of star players, including outsides Gabi, Ana Cristina and Julia Bergmann. Bergmann had an All-American career at Georgia Tech.
Middle Thaisa, a two-time Olympic champion (2008, 2012) who returned to the national team in 2023, is still a star at 37. Brazil also has the X factor of coach Ze Roberto.
Poland: Poland, third in VNL, is also a favorite with top talent and huge players. Joanna Wołosz is one of the top setters in the world and her weapons include 6-8 opposite Magdalena Stysiak and 6-6 middle Agnieszka Korneluk. Poland needs big play from outsides Martyna Łukasik and Natalia Mędrzyk and better pass reception than it got in VNL.
Japan: Japan comes in riding high after losing to Italy in the VNL gold-medal match, its most successful international tournament since 2012. It might not have been the strongest VNL field, but still left Japan as one of the contenders in Paris.
Outside hitters Sarina Koga and Mayu Ishikawa are key. Airi Miyabe, a pin hitter at Minnesota, has transitioned impressively to the middle and was valuable to Volleyball World TV as an English translator for her teammates’ post-match interviews. Manami Kojima, a LOVB signee, was named the best libero in the VNL.
Kenya: Kenya, like France in Pool A, is looking at three sweeps. Kenya has not competed internationally since the 2022 World Championships.
Pool C
Italy, Türkiye, Netherlands, DR
Italy: Italy won VNL and has to be considered a favorite, yet it has never won an Olympic medal.
After the dismissal of coach Davide Mazzanti, Julio Velsasco took over and reintroduced key players Paola Egonu, Alessia Orro, and Monica De Gennaro to the team, all instrumental in Italy’s VNL title. But Italy is dealing with injuries. Elena Pietrini is out with shoulder surgery, while Alice Degradi sustained a knee injury in a recent friendly match. Their absence leaves a void in Italy’s already limited group of outside hitters, where Miriam Sylla and Cate Bosetti are mainstays, with Gaia Giovannini joining for her debut in a major tournament.
Türkiye: Türkiye, behind the addition of Cuban opposite Melissa Vargas, a one-woman wrecking crew, won both VNL and the European championship in 2023. However, the Turks’ momentum heading into the 2024 Olympics has been tempered by injuries and inconsistency, which showed in a quarterfinal VNL exit.
Outside hitters Hande Baladin and Ilkin Aydin and Zehra Gunes have been sidelined with injuries. But Türkiye still has the explosive and crowd-pleasing/instigator Ebrar Karakurt, who can carry her team.
Dominican Republic: The DR remains one of the most enigmatic teams in women’s volleyball, with impressive victories like upsetting the USA in the NORCECA Championship and Serbia in Olympic qualifying last year. Conversely, the DR has had surprising defeats, such as losing to Czechia in Olympic qualifying.
Brayelin Martinez, a 6-7 outside, and sister Jineiry Martinez, a middle, lead the team. Brenda Castillo is one of the world’s best liberos. Bethania De La Cruz, who starred in America the past few years, first with Athletes Unlimited and then this past Pro Volleyball Federation season with the Omaha Supernovas, will conclude her illustrious international career in Paris. Brazil’s Bergmann is not the only ACC player in the Games. Miami setter Ariana Rodriguez, a New Yorker who will be a sophomore, will make her Olympic debut.
Netherlands: The Dutch took it down to the wire, narrowly edging Canada for their spot in the Olympics. They have an uphill battle in Paris.
The Netherlands relies heavily on middles Eline Timmerman, Juliet Lohuis and Indy Baijens. Setter Sarah Van Aalen has to hope inconsistent outsides Nika Daalderop, Jolien Knollema, Anne Buijs and Marrit Jasper come up big. LOVB Omaha setter Laura Dijkema will not be on the Olympic roster, but will serve as a member of the coaching staff. The Netherlands’ last Olympic appearance was in 2016 in Rio where it lost to the USA in the bronze-medal match.
