London 2012 final to be replayed in Rio 2016 semis

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 18, 2016 – Hosts Brazil and defending champions Russia set themselves up to clash in the men’s volleyball semifinals of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after both scored convincing wins in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, together with Italy and USA.The Brazil v Russia match, scheduled for Friday night at 22:15, is a rematch of the epic battle in the final of the London 2012 Olympic Games, when Russia came back from two sets down to claim gold.Brazil produced a confident performance to take down arch rivals Argentina 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-19, 25-23) in a game tighter than then the score might suggest. They secured their semifinal ticket after a shaky pool play performance and a last-minute dramatic qualification to the top eight.Russia had started off quarterfinals day with a most solid win 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-18) over a Canadian team that seemed content at just having reached the top eight.Beijing 2008 gold medallists USA returned to the medals round after a fifth-place finish in London 2012 with an impressive 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-20) over reigning world champions Poland.And London 2012 bronze medallists Italy survived a bit of bother in the first set to shut out Olympic rookies Iran 3-0 (31-29, 25-19, 25-17), as Ivan Zaytsev delivered the fastest service of the tournament so far to tie the Olympic record of 127 kilometres per hour.The men’s semifinals at Rio 2016 are scheduled for Friday:13:00 – Italy v USA22:15 – Russia v BrazilSummary Statistics – Men’s …

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