U.S. Women's Volleyball Team Triumphs Over Poland, Sets Up Semifinal Clash with Brazil

The U.S. women's volleyball team secured a decisive straight-set victory against Poland at the Paris Olympics. After dominating the first two sets, they rallied to win the third, setting a semifinal encounter with Brazil. The game also highlighted key contributors and strategic lineup changes.

The reigning Olympic champion U.S. women's volleyball team posted a straight-set victory against Poland on Tuesday night at the Paris Olympics.

The Americans led throughout while taking the first two sets, 25-22 and 25-14. They fell behind 5-0 and 7-1 in the third set before rallying to close it out, 25-20.

Next up is a semifinal date on Thursday with powerhouse Brazil, which swept the Dominican Republic earlier in the day. It's a rematch of the Tokyo Games final.

Turkey eliminated China with a 3-2 victory and was waiting on the result of Tuesday's late match between Italy and Serbia to learn its next opponent.

US coach Karch Kiraly expressed relief at getting his players off their feet sooner and avoiding extra sets, particularly for setter Jordyn Poulter, who is still recovering from a serious knee injury that required surgery last December.

'To be able to chip away and get back and tie it up at 13-all and get out with 3-0 instead of 17-15 in the fifth, which happens so often, that's really big,' Kiraly said. 'Especially for somebody like Jordyn Poulter who's on a really good recovery.'

Kiraly made strategic lineup changes after the team's five-set defeat to China in the group stage, bringing in Avery Skinner and Kathryn Plummer. The new lineup has started to gel, as evidenced by their recent performances.

Andrea Drews led the team with 13 points, while Skinner and Plummer added 12 each. Plummer noted the team's improved service pressure and praised veteran Jordan Larson's significant contributions off the bench.

'We started out the third set very slow,' Plummer said. 'But we got out of that first rotation and put together strings of points with big blocks and serves. The third set was a testament to our cohesion.'

(With inputs from agencies.)