Olympics | United States, Italy to face off in women's volleyball final at Paris 2024

PARIS, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Italy secured their spots in the women's volleyball final at the Paris Olympics after winning their respective semifinal on Thursday.

Defending champions the U.S. narrowly defeated Brazil 3-2, while Italy swept Turkey in straight sets.

The U.S. defeated Brazil 25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11, as both sides experienced significant ups and downs during the match. The decisive fifth set saw the teams tied at 8-8 before the United States, aided by Avery Skinner's serves, got four consecutive points to seal the victory.

"That's the beauty of this game. You get tested, you learn about yourselves, you learn about your teammates. They [Brazil] tested us, and we tested them, and we were a tiny bit stronger in the end," said U.S. head coach Karch Kiraly.

In the other semifinal, Italy overcame a strong start by Turkey in each set but managed to gain control midway through each time, securing the win 25-22, 25-19, 25-22.

Turkey's star player Melissa Teresa Vargas, who had previously scored over 40 points against China, was held to just 17 points, stifled by Italy's formidable blocking and strong receiving. Italy's Paola Ogechi Egonu led all scorers with 24 points.

Turkey led for much of the third set, but Italy refused to let them take it. Italy's head coach Julio Velasco's timely guidance during a timeout was pivotal.

"We put too much emotion and made mistakes we not usually do. I told them, you must be precise when you want to open your fire, because if you put too much fire and that might be too much to do mistakes," Velasco said.

The women's volleyball final will take place on August 11.