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Check out all the Olympic men’s volleyball pool-play matches to follow today and how to follow them live.
United States (1-2, 3 points Pool A) vs. France (2-1, 6 points Pool A)
Match vitals: 3:05 p.m. (CST) in Rio
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
World ranking: United States (No. 5); France (No. 11)
Olympic all-time series: United States leads 2-0
What to know: When John Speraw was named the new U.S. head coach three years ago he said in his introductory news conference that he wished then-UC Irvine All-American opposite Kevin Tillie was an American citizen. Speraw will now have to find a way to offensively contain the player he coached in college as the United States plays France in a critical pool-play match. The United States enters its second to last pool-play match tied for fourth place in Pool A following a victory against previously undefeated Brazil on Thursday. If the United States beats third-place France, it can move into position to secure a top-four Pool A finish and a quarterfinals berth on the final day of pool-play. Opposite Matt Anderson leads the Olympic tournament with 49 kills and had a match-high 23 kills in versus Brazil to help the United States end its two-match losing streak. In addition, his U.S. teammate outside attacker Aaron Russell is second in the tournament with 48 kills. The two former Penn State All-Americans also are each in the tournament’s top 10 with more than a .375 attack percentage. Tillie is one of three French players with at least 20 kills so far in the Olympic tournament. The former Anteater who helped the program under Speraw in 2012 win its first of two consecutive NCAA championships had eight kills on a match-best .727 attack percentage in a sweep against Mexico on Tuesday. Outside attacker Earvin Ngapeth leads France and is among the tournament leaders with 32 kills, including having a match-high 16 kills in a sweep versus Canada on Thursday. He also has five aces and is second in the tournament with a 0.56 aces per game average. U.S. setter Micah Christenson led all players with four aces in the four-game victory against Brazil. In addition, the former USC All-American has guided the U.S. offense to more than a .350 attack percentage in its last two matches and is third in the Olympics with a 11.27 assists per game average. Along with the recent offensive performances, U.S. libero Erik Shoji has a tournament-best 20 digs and middle attacker Max Holt has the third-most blocks in the Olympics with nine. This will be the first meeting between the two nations since the United States defeated France in four games in the 2015 FIVB World League Finals.
Iran (1-2, 4 points Pool B) vs. Egypt (1-2, 3 points Pool B)
Match vitals: 7:30 a.m. (CST) in Rio
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
World ranking: Iran (No. 10); Egypt (No. 20)
Argentina (2-1, 6 points Pool B) vs. Cuba (0-3, 0 points Pool B)
Match vitals: 9:35 a.m. (CST) in Rio
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
World ranking: Argentina (No. 6); Cuba (No. 17)
Poland (3-0, 9 points Pool B) vs. Russia (2-1, 6 points Pool B)
Match vitals: 1 p.m. (CST) in Rio
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
World ranking: Poland (No. 2); Russia (No. 3)
Canada (1-2, 3 points Pool A) vs. Mexico (0-3, 0 points Pool A)
Match vitals: 6:30 p.m. (CST) in Rio
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
World ranking: Canada (No. 12); Mexico (No. 26)
Italy (3-0, 9 points Pool A) vs. Brazil (2-1, 6 points Pool A)
Match vitals: 8:35 p.m. (CST) in Rio
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
World ranking: Italy (No. 4); Brazil (No. 1)