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Check out the FIVB Volleyball Nations League semifinal matches to follow on Saturday and how to follow the matches live.
United States (11-2) vs. (Italy 10-3)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. (1 p.m. EST) in Gdansk, Poland
Follow live: Live stats, Live video (VolleyballWorld)
Former NCAA players on United States roster: Matt Anderson (Penn State); Taylor Averill (Hawai’i); Micah Christenson (USC); Kyle Dagostino (Stanford)/ TJ DeFalco (Long Beach State); Jake Hanes (Ohio State); Max Holt (Penn State); Thomas Jaeschke (Loyola); Jeff Jendryk (Loyola); Micah Ma’a (UCLA); Garrett Muagututia (UCLA) Aaron Russell (Penn State); Erik Shoji (Stanford); David Smith (UC Irvine)
Former NCAA players on Italy roster: None
What to know: The United States has already defeated the defending Olympic gold medalists – now it has to go through the defending World Championships, The United States will face Italy in the semifinals with a spot in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League gold-medal match on the line. Former Penn State opposite Matt Anderson had a match-high 20 kills on a .486 attack percentage as the United States defeated France in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Anderson, a three-time Olympian, now has double-digit kills in five matches during this tournament. This will be the second time the United States and Italy have played each other in the Volleyball Nations League this year. The United States had 10 aces in a sweep against Italy during the opening week of the tournament. Former Long Beach State outside attacker TJ DeFalco in that victory led all players with four aces. DeFalco was one of 11 players with at least 15 aces during the preliminary round. The two-time National Player of the Year also entered the finals leading the United States with both 112 kills and a 51.85 percent offensive efficiency rating. Italy swept Argentina in its quarterfinals match on Friday. Outside attacker Alessandro Michieletto in the victory finished with a match-high 13 kills on a .579 attack percentage. Michieletto did not play in Italy’s loss to the United States during the preliminary round. If the United States can beat Italy, it will reach the gold-medal match for the second consecutive year at the Volleyball Nations League.
Japan (11-2) vs. Poland (11-2)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. (11 a.m. EST) in Gdansk, Poland
Follow live: Live stats, Live video (VolleyballWorld)
Former NCAA players on Japan roster: None
Former NCAA players on Poland roster: None