Volleyball debuted in 1964, with both a women’s and a men’s competition, and has been a part of the Olympics ever since. The volleyball matches will be held in the Ginasio do Maracanazinho, an older arena built in the early 50s that is next to the Maracana. The US men qualified from the World Cup while the women needed the North American qualifier.

The Team:

The US team is made up of twelve men and twelve women. Only eight of the members, four men and four women are returners from London with the men’s team bringing back two for the third time including a four-time Olympian. None of the US women were part of the team before London. Reid Priddy is the oldest member of the team at 38 while Thomas Jaeschke is the youngest as he’s yet to turn 23.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

USA Volleyball
Men:
Matt Anderson*
Micah Christenson
Max Holt
Thomas Jaeschke
David Lee**
Reid Priddy***
Aaron Russell
Taylor Sander
Erik Shoji
Kawika Shoji
David Smith*
Murphy Troy

Women:
Rachael Adams
Foluke Akinradewo*
Kayla Banwarth
Alisha Glass
Christa Dietzen*
Kim Hill
Jordan Larson*
Carli Lloyd
Karsta Lowe
Kelly Murphy
Kelsey Robinson
Courtney Thompson*
* – Was on team in 2012 – London
** – Was on team in 2012 and 2008 (Beijing)
*** – Was on team in 2012, 2008, and 2004 (Athens)

Format:

In the Olympics the volleyball competitions take the form of a six-team group stage followed by an eight team tournament. The top four teams in each group will advance. Three points for a 3-0 or 3-1 win, two for a 3-2 win, and one for a 2-3 loss. The tiebreakers are wins, set ratio, and point ratio.

Schedule:

All times ET
Saturday, August 6th
4:05 PM – Women’s Group Stage – USA vs. Puerto Rico

Sunday, August 7th
4:05 PM – Men’s Group Stage – USA vs. Canada

Monday, August 8th
2 PM – Women’s Group Stage – USA vs. Netherlands

Tuesday, August 9th
2 PM – Men’s Group Stage – USA vs. Italy

Wednesday, August 10th
2 PM – Women’s Group Stage – USA vs. Serbia

Thursday, August 11th
9:35 PM – Men’s Group Stage – USA vs. Brazil

Friday, August 12th
2 PM – Women’s Group Stage – USA vs. Italy

Saturday, August 13th
4:05 PM – Men’s Group Stage – USA vs. France

Sunday, August 14th
4:05 PM – Women’s Group Stage – USA vs. China

Monday, August 15th
10:35 AM – Men’s Group Stage – USA vs. Mexico

Tuesday, August 16th
9 AM/1/5/9:15 PM – Women’s Quarterfinals

Wednesday, August 17th
9 AM/1/5/9:15 PM – Women’s Quarterfinals

Thursday, August 18th
12/9:15 PM – Women’s Semifinals

Friday, August 19th
12/9:15 PM – Women’s Semifinals

Saturday, August 20th
12 PM – Women’s Bronze Medal Match
9:15 PM – Women’s Gold Medal Match

Sunday, August 21st
8:30 AM – Men’s Bronze Medal Match
12:15 PM – Men’s Gold Medal Match

Past Results:

The US has eight medals including three golds. The women have won silver in back-to-back Olympics while the men won gold in Beijing. Reid Priddy and David Lee have golds from 2008 while the four returning women, Foluke Akinradewo, Christa Dietzen, Jordan Larson, and Courtney Thompson have silvers from 2012.