Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

Men's volleyball
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Men's volleyball; at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Venue	Ariake Arena
Date	24 July – 7 August 2021
Competitors	144 from 12 nations
Medalists
	← 2016 2024 →

The men's tournament in volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics was the 15th edition of the event at the Summer Olympics, organised by the world's governing body, the FIVB, in conjunction with the IOC. It was held in Tokyo, Japan from 24 July to 7 August 2021.^[1] It was originally scheduled to take place from 25 July to 8 August 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee announced on 24 March 2020 that the 2020 Summer Olympics would be delayed to 2021.^[2] Because of this pandemic, all matches were played behind closed doors.^[3]

France won their first gold and overall medal with a 3–2 win over the Russian team that competed as the ROC.^[4] Argentina won the bronze medal in a narrow 3–2 victory over Brazil.^[5]

The medals for the competition were presented by Bernard Rajzman, IOC Member, Olympian, and Silver Medalist, Brazil; and the medalists' bouquets were presented by Ary Graça, FIVB President; Brazil.

Competition schedule

P	Preliminary round	¼	Quarterfinals	½	Semifinals	B	Bronze medal match	F	Final

Sat 24	Sun 25	Mon 26	Tue 27	Wed 28	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3		Wed 4		Thu 5		Fri 6	Sat 7
P		P		P		P		P		¼				½			B	F

Qualification

Event		Dates	Venue(s)	Quota	Qualifier(s)
Host nation^[6]		—		1	Japan
Intercontinental Qualifier	Pool A	9–11 August 2019	Varna	1	Brazil
	Pool B		Rotterdam	1	United States
	Pool C		Bari	1	Italy
	Pool D		Gdańsk–Sopot	1	Poland
	Pool E		Saint Petersburg	1	ROC
	Pool F		Ningbo	1	Argentina
European Qualifier		5–10 January 2020	Berlin	1	France
Asian Qualifier		7–12 January 2020	Jiangmen	1	Iran
African Qualifier		7–11 January 2020	Cairo	1	Tunisia
South American Qualifier		10–12 January 2020	Mostazal	1	Venezuela
North American Qualifier		10–12 January 2020	Vancouver	1	Canada
Total				12

Format

The preliminary round was a competition between the twelve teams, who were divided into two pools of six teams. This round, the teams competed in a single round-robin format. The four highest ranked teams in each pool advanced to the knockout stage (quarterfinals).

The knockout stage followed the single-elimination format. The losers of the quarterfinals were eliminated. The quarterfinal winners played in the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals competed for gold medal and the losers played for bronze medal.^[7]

Pools composition

Teams were seeded following the serpentine system according to their FIVB World Ranking as of 15 October 2019.^[8] FIVB reserved the right to seed the hosts as head of pool A regardless of the World Ranking. Rankings are shown in brackets except the hosts who ranked 10th. The pools were confirmed on 31 January 2020.^[9]

Pool A	Pool B
Japan (Hosts)	Brazil (1)
Poland (3)	United States (2)
Italy (4)	ROC (5)
Canada (7)	Argentina (6)
Iran (8)	France (9)
Venezuela (36)	Tunisia (22)

Rosters

Venue

All matches
Tokyo, Japan
Ariake Arena
Capacity: 15,000

Pool standing procedure

In order to establish the ranking of teams after the group stage, the following criteria should be implemented:^[10]

Number of matches won
Match points
Sets ratio
Points ratio
Result of the last match between the tied teams

Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 match points for the winner, 0 match points for the loser
Match won 3–2: 2 match points for the winner, 1 match point for the loser

Referees

The following referees were selected for the tournament.^[11]

Hernán Casamiquela
Paulo Turci
Liu Jiang
Denny Cespedes
Fabrice Collados
Daniele Rapisarda
Shin Muranaka
Sumie Myoi
Luis Macias
Wojciech Maroszek
Evgeny Makshanov
Vladimir Simonović
Juraj Mokrý
Kang Joo-hee
Susana Rodríguez
Hamid Al-Rousi
Patricia Rolf

Preliminary round

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).
The top four teams in each pool qualified for the quarterfinals.

Pool A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Poland	5	4	1	13	14	4	3.500	435	365	1.192	Quarterfinals
2	Italy	5	4	1	11	12	7	1.714	447	411	1.088
3	Japan (H)	5	3	2	8	10	9	1.111	437	433	1.009
4	Canada	5	2	3	7	9	9	1.000	396	387	1.023
5	Iran	5	2	3	6	9	11	0.818	453	460	0.985
6	Venezuela	5	0	5	0	1	15	0.067	281	393	0.715

Source: Tokyo 2020 and FIVB
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Host

24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 09:00 v	Italy	3–2	Canada	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Evgeny Makshanov (RUS), Liu Jiang (CHN)
	(26–28, 18–25, 25–21, 25–18, 15–11) Results Statistics

24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 17:05 v	Japan	3–0	Venezuela	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Luis Macias (MEX), Vladimir Simonovic (SRB)
	(25–21, 25–20, 25–15) Results Statistics

24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 19:40 v	Poland	2–3	Iran	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Daniele Rapisarda (ITA), Juraj Mokrý (SVK)
	(25–18, 22–25, 22–25, 25–22, 21–23) Results Statistics

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 09:00 v	Iran	3–0	Venezuela	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Hernán Casamiquela (ARG), Susana Rodríguez (ESP)
	(25–17, 25–20, 25–18) Results Statistics

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 14:20 v	Poland	3–0	Italy	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Paulo Turci (BRA), Denny Cespedes (DOM)
	(25–20, 26–24, 25–20) Results Statistics

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 19:40 v	Japan	3–1	Canada	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Daniele Rapisarda (ITA), Patricia Rolf (USA)
	(23–25, 25–23, 25–23, 25–20) Results Statistics

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 09:00 v	Canada	3–0	Iran	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Luis Macias (MEX), Paulo Turci (BRA)
	(25–16, 25–20, 25–22) Results Statistics

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 17:15 v	Poland	3–1	Venezuela	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Hamid Al-Rousi (UAE), Shin Muranaka (JPN)
	(25–16, 25–13, 18–25, 25–15) Results Statistics

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 19:40 v	Japan	1–3	Italy	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Juraj Mokrý (SVK), Fabrice Collados (FRA)
	(20–25, 17–25, 25–23, 21–25) Results Statistics

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 09:00 v	Canada	3–0	Venezuela	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Patricia Rolf (USA), Susana Rodríguez (ESP)
	(25–13, 25–22, 25–12) Results Statistics

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 14:20 v	Japan	0–3	Poland	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Hernán Casamiquela (ARG), Liu Jiang (CHN)
	(22–25, 21–25, 24–26) Results Statistics

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 19:40 v	Italy	3–1	Iran	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Vladimir Simonović (SRB), Denny Cespedes (DOM)
	(30–28, 25–21, 21–25, 25–21) Results Statistics

1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) 09:00 v	Poland	3–0	Canada	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Paulo Turci (BRA), Hamid Al-Rousi (UAE)
	(25–15, 25–21, 25–16) Results Statistics

1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) 16:25 v	Italy	3–0	Venezuela	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Hernán Casamiquela (ARG), Sumie Myoi (JPN)
	(25–22, 25–15, 25–17) Results Statistics

1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) 19:40 v	Japan	3–2	Iran	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Juraj Mokrý (SVK), Daniele Rapisarda (ITA)
	(25–21, 20–25, 29–31, 25–22, 15–13) Results Statistics

Pool B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	ROC	5	4	1	12	13	5	2.600	427	397	1.076	Quarterfinals
2	Brazil	5	4	1	10	12	8	1.500	476	450	1.058
3	Argentina	5	3	2	8	12	10	1.200	476	464	1.026
4	France	5	2	3	8	10	10	1.000	449	442	1.016
5	United States	5	2	3	6	8	10	0.800	432	412	1.049
6	Tunisia	5	0	5	1	3	15	0.200	339	434	0.781

Source: Tokyo 2020 and FIVB
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 12:02 v	Brazil	3–0	Tunisia	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Hamid Al-Rousi (UAE), Fabrice Collados (FRA)
	(25–22, 25–20, 25–15) Results Statistics

24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 14:20 v	ROC	3–1	Argentina	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Denny Cespedes (DOM), Paulo Turci (BRA)
	(21–25, 25–23, 25–17, 25–21) Results Statistics

24 July 2021 (2021-07-24) 23:00 v	United States	3–0	France	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Wojciech Maroszek (POL), Hernán Casamiquela (ARG)
	(25–18, 25–18, 25–22) Results Statistics

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 11:05 v	United States	1–3	ROC	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Juraj Mokrý (SVK), Liu Jiang (CHN)
	(23–25, 25–27, 25–21, 23–25) Results Statistics

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 16:25 v	France	3–0	Tunisia	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Vladimir Simonović (SRB), Kang Joo-hee (KOR)
	(25–21, 25–11, 25–21) Results Statistics

26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) 22:25 v	Brazil	3–2	Argentina	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Shin Muranaka (JPN), Luis Macias (MEX)
	(19–25, 21–25, 25–16, 25–21, 16–14) Results Statistics

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 11:05 v	United States	3–1	Tunisia	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Evgeny Makshanov (RUS), Sumie Myoi (JPN)
	(25–14, 23–25, 25–14, 25–23) Results Statistics

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 14:20 v	Argentina	3–2	France	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Liu Jiang (CHN), Daniele Rapisarda (ITA)
	(23–25, 25–17, 25–20, 15–25, 15–13) Results Statistics

28 July 2021 (2021-07-28) 22:16 v	Brazil	0–3	ROC	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Wojciech Maroszek (POL), Vladimir Simonović (SRB)
	(22–25, 20–25, 20–25) Results Statistics

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 11:05 v	Brazil	3–1	United States	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Daniele Rapisarda (ITA), Luis Macias (MEX)
	(30–32, 25–23, 25–21, 25–20) Results Statistics

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 16:30 v	Argentina	3–2	Tunisia	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Juraj Mokrý (SVK), Wojciech Maroszek (POL)
	(23–25, 23–25, 25–19, 25–18, 15–8) Results Statistics

30 July 2021 (2021-07-30) 22:35 v	ROC	1–3	France	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Shin Muranaka (JPN), Paulo Turci (BRA)
	(21–25, 25–20, 17–25, 20–25) Results Statistics

1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) 11:05 v	Brazil	3–2	France	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Wojciech Maroszek (POL), Liu Jiang (CHN)
	(25–22, 37–39, 25–17, 21–25, 20–18) Results Statistics

1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) 14:25 v	ROC	3–0	Tunisia	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Luis Macias (MEX), Patricia Rolf (USA)
	(25–20, 25–22, 25–16) Results Statistics

1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) 23:00 v	United States	0–3	Argentina	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Denny Cespedes (DOM), Vladimir Simonović (SRB)
	(21–25, 23–25, 23–25) Results Statistics

Knockout stage

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).
The first ranked teams of both pools played against the fourth ranked teams of the other pool. The second ranked teams faced the second or third ranked teams of the other pool, determined by drawing of lots. The drawing of lots was held after the last match in the preliminary round.^[7]^[12]

Bracket

Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Gold medal match

3 August

Poland	2
		5 August
France	3
		France	3
3 August
		Argentina	0
Italy	2
				7 August
Argentina	3
				France	3
3 August
				ROC	2
Japan	0
		5 August
Brazil	3
		Brazil	1
3 August
		ROC	3	Bronze medal match
Canada	0
				7 August
ROC	3
				Argentina	3

				Brazil	2

Quarterfinals

3 August 2021 (2021-08-03) 09:00 v	Canada	0–3	ROC	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Hernán Casamiquela (ARG), Shin Muranaka (JPN)
	(21–25, 28–30, 22–25) Results Statistics

3 August 2021 (2021-08-03) 13:00 v	Japan	0–3	Brazil	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Denny Cespedes (DOM), Liu Jiang (CHN)
	(20–25, 22–25, 20–25) Results Statistics

3 August 2021 (2021-08-03) 17:01 v	Italy	2–3	Argentina	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Vladimir Simonović (SRB), Wojciech Maroszek (POL)
	(25–21, 23–25, 22–25, 25–14, 12–15) Results Statistics

3 August 2021 (2021-08-03) 21:30 v	Poland	2–3	France	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Juraj Mokrý (SVK), Daniele Rapisarda (ITA)
	(25–21, 22–25, 25–21, 21–25, 9–15) Results Statistics

Semifinals

5 August 2021 (2021-08-05) 13:00 v	Brazil	1–3	ROC	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Daniele Rapisarda (ITA), Wojciech Maroszek (POL)
	(25–18, 21–25, 24–26, 23–25) Results Statistics

5 August 2021 (2021-08-05) 21:00 v	France	3–0	Argentina	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Shin Muranaka (JPN), Liu Jiang (CHN)
	(25–22, 25–19, 25–22) Results Statistics

Bronze medal match

7 August 2021 (2021-08-07) 13:31 v	Argentina	3–2	Brazil	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Wojciech Maroszek (POL), Fabrice Collados (FRA)
	(25–23, 20–25, 20–25, 25–17, 15–13) Results Statistics

Gold medal match

7 August 2021 (2021-08-07) 21:15 v	France	3–2	ROC	Ariake Arena, Tokyo Referees: Vladimir Simonović (SRB), Paulo Turci (BRA)
	(25–23, 25–17, 21–25, 21–25, 15–12) Results Statistics

Final standing

Rank	Team^[13]^[14]
	France
	ROC
	Argentina
4	Brazil
5	Poland
6	Italy
7	Japan
8	Canada
9	Iran
10	United States
11	Tunisia
12	Venezuela

2020 Men's Olympic champions
France First title

12–man Roster

Barthélémy Chinenyeze, Jenia Grebennikov (L), Jean Patry, Benjamin Toniutti (c), Kévin Tillie, Earvin N'Gapeth, Antoine Brizard, Stéphen Boyer, Nicolas Le Goff, Daryl Bultor, Trévor Clévenot, Yacine Louati

Head coach

Laurent Tillie

Medalists

Awards

The awards were announced on 7 August 2021.^[13]^[15]

Position	Player
Most valuable player	Earvin N'Gapeth
Setter	Luciano De Cecco
Outside hitters	Earvin N'Gapeth
Outside hitters	Egor Kliuka
Middle blockers	Ivan Iakovlev
Middle blockers	Barthélémy Chinenyeze
Opposite spiker	Maxim Mikhaylov
Libero	Jenia Grebennikov

Statistics leaders

Only players whose teams advanced to the semifinals were ranked.

Best Scorers

Rank	Name	Points
1	Bruno Lima	138
2	Earvin N'Gapeth	136
3	Jean Patry	135
4	Maksim Mikhaylov	130
5	Facundo Conte	125

Best Spikers

Rank	Name	%Eff
1	Jean Patry	42.06
2	Trévor Clévenot	34.03
3	Maksim Mikhaylov	33.33
4	Yoandy Leal	33.16
5	Ricardo Lucarelli	32.37

Best Blockers

Rank	Name	Avg
1	Ivan Iakovlev	0.70
2	Lucas Saatkamp	0.66
3	Agustín Loser	0.63
4	Barthélémy Chinenyeze	0.61
4	Nicolas Le Goff	0.61

Best Servers

Rank	Name	Avg
1	Ricardo Lucarelli	0.38
2	Bruno Lima	0.26
3	Antoine Brizard	0.24
4	Egor Kliuka	0.23
5	Jean Patry	0.21

Best Diggers

Rank	Name	Avg
1	Thales Hoss	2.25
2	Jenia Grebennikov	1.94
3	Valentin Golubev	1.73
4	Santiago Danani	1.66
5	Bruno Rezende	1.22

Best Setters

Rank	Name	Avg
1	Bruno Rezende	10.78
2	Luciano De Cecco	10.34
3	Igor Kobzar	8.73
4	Antoine Brizard	7.09
5	Benjamin Toniutti	4.12

Best Receivers

Rank	Name	%Succ
1	Thales Hoss	73.15
2	Santiago Danani	67.08
3	Egor Kliuka	66.67
4	Trévor Clévenot	64.74
5	Facundo Conte	62.56

Source: Olympics.com

References

^ "Tokyo 2020 schedule confirmed for 2021". FIVB. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
^ "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". IOC. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
^ "Tokyo Olympics to be held without fans after new COVID-19 state of emergency declared". USA Today. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
^ "Ngapeth Guides France To Olympic Glory". FIVB. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
^ "Conte powers Argentina's five-set win to claim bronze". FIVB. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
^ "Host city election for the Olympic Summer Games 2020". IOC. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Formula". FIVB. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
^ "FIVB Senior World Ranking – Men (as of 15 October 2019)". FIVB. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
^ "Pools confirmed for Tokyo 2020 Olympic volleyball tournament". FIVB. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
^ "Pools Ranking Criteria". FIVB. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
^ "Competition Officials" (PDF). IOC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
^ "Matchups confirmed for men's volleyball quarterfinals". FIVB. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Final standings" (PDF). IOC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
^ "Men's Standings – Final Round". FIVB. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
^ "Ngapeth named MVP of men's Tokyo 2020 Dream Team". FIVB. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.

External links

Official website

[1] "Tokyo 2020 schedule confirmed for 2021". FIVB. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.

[2] "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". IOC. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2022.

[3] "Tokyo Olympics to be held without fans after new COVID-19 state of emergency declared". USA Today. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.

[4] "Ngapeth Guides France To Olympic Glory". FIVB. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.

[5] "Conte powers Argentina's five-set win to claim bronze". FIVB. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.

[hosts-6] "Host city election for the Olympic Summer Games 2020". IOC. Retrieved 13 January 2020.

[format-7] "Formula". FIVB. Retrieved 1 February 2020.

[8] "FIVB Senior World Ranking – Men (as of 15 October 2019)". FIVB. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.

[9] "Pools confirmed for Tokyo 2020 Olympic volleyball tournament". FIVB. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.

[10] "Pools Ranking Criteria". FIVB. Retrieved 8 August 2021.

[11] "Competition Officials" (PDF). IOC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.

[12] "Matchups confirmed for men's volleyball quarterfinals". FIVB. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.

[standing-13] "Final standings" (PDF). IOC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.

[14] "Men's Standings – Final Round". FIVB. Retrieved 8 August 2021.

[15] "Ngapeth named MVP of men's Tokyo 2020 Dream Team". FIVB. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.

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[15]

Gold	Silver	Bronze
France (FRA) Barthélémy Chinenyeze Jenia Grebennikov (L) Jean Patry Benjamin Toniutti (c) Kévin Tillie Earvin N'Gapeth Antoine Brizard Stéphen Boyer Nicolas Le Goff Daryl Bultor Trévor Clévenot Yacine Louati Head coach: Laurent Tillie	ROC Yaroslav Podlesnykh Artem Volvich Dmitry Volkov Ivan Iakovlev Denis Bogdan Pavel Pankov Viktor Poletaev Maxim Mikhaylov Egor Kliuka Ilyas Kurkaev Igor Kobzar (c) Valentin Golubev (L) Head coach: Tuomas Sammelvuo	Argentina (ARG) Matías Sánchez Federico Pereyra Cristian Poglajen Facundo Conte Agustín Loser Santiago Danani (L) Sebastián Solé Bruno Lima Ezequiel Palacios Luciano De Cecco (c) Nicolás Méndez Martín Ramos Head coach: Marcelo Méndez