How it works, what to know

Here’s what you need to know about volleyball at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

When did volleyball become an Olympic sport?

Volleyball was introduced as an Olympic sport for both men and women in 1964 at the Tokyo Games. The last Paris Games, held in 1924, staged an exhibition event.

How does Olympic volleyball work?

Two teams of six play on an indoor court that is 18 meters long and 9 meters wide (59 feet long by 29 feet, 6 inches wide). The men’s net is set at 2.43 meters (7 feet, 11⅝ inches) high, and the women’s net is 2.24 meters (7 feet, 4⅛ inches) high. 

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A match is best of five sets; the first four sets are played to 25, with a two-point margin of victory, and a fifth set is played to 15 points, also with a two-point margin of victory. A point is scored when the ball lands within the court boundaries or if a playing error happens. 

During the Olympics, 12 teams first go through pool play before advancing to the quarterfinals, semifinals and bronze- and gold-medal matches. For the first time this summer, the 12-team field will split into three pools of four (at previous Olympics, it was two pools of six). 

Who are the top Team USA athletes in volleyball?

WOMEN

• Jordan Larson: 3-time Olympic medalist, led the Americans to their first-ever gold at the Tokyo Olympics and was namedMVP. A two-time indoor player of the year, Larson has been a national team member since 2009.
• Avery Skinner: Poised to make Olympic debut after dominant performance at 2022 Pan Am Cup, where she won best spiker and best scorer .

MEN

• Matt Anderson: A bronze medalist and six-time indoor player of the year, he has been with national team since 2008 and has been Team USA’s leading scorer since 2011.
• Micah Christenson: A bronze-medal winner and one of best setters in the world.

What’s the international landscape in Olympic volleyball?

On the women’s side, Turkey will enter Paris as the No. 1 ranked team behind 24-year-old spiking sensation Melissa Vargas, the MVP at both the Volleyball Nations League and European Championships. The U.S. women are ranked second, followed closely by Brazil and Serbia. 

On the men’s side, Poland — home of 6-foot-7 Wilfredo León, the best player in the world — enters Paris as the top team, followed by the United States, Italy and Japan. León, who was a member of Cuba’s national team from from 2007 to 2012 and has represented Poland since 2019, is trying to end his country’s 48-year medal drought.