There was a trend building this 5 August of persistence in the Olympic Village. The Poland men's volleyball team have beaten Slovenia 3-1 to progress to the semi-finals, having lost in the quarters in the previous five Olympic Games.

Also, the USA advanced to the semifinals after defeating Brazil in four sets while France beat Germany 2-0.

Women's volleyball recap

The final day of women's volleyball began with the world's number-one team clearly outclassing Turkey. Led by the legendary and veteran Argentine coach Julio Velasco, Italy gave a solid performance from start to finish, causing some instability in the Turkish team.

The 2024 Volleyball Nations League champions were dominant from start to finish, running out 3-0 winners (25-14, 25-16, 25-21) to remain unbeaten in the tournament. Italian star Paola Egonu was the top scorer of the morning in Paris with 20 points (18 spikes, one block, one ace).

Italian captain Anna Danesi did not shy away from the label of gold medal favourites: "We are playing at a high level and feeling good, so I hope our opponents are a bit afraid of us.

The United States defeated France 3-0 (29-27, 29-27, 25-20) to finish second on 6 points, leapfrogging Serbia for a potentially easier quarter-final berth.

After the main matches between the number one team in the world (Italy) and the home team (only as hosts, as their performance in the tournament was very poor), the day continued with a match between China and Serbia.

Despite a 39-point performance from Tijana Boškovi, the Asian team overcame defending champions and current world champions Serbia. With this 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 29-27) victory, China finished as one of the top three ranked national teams in the event and remained unbeaten.

The final match of the day was a clash of the unbeaten between Brazil and Poland to decide the top of Group B. The South American team's determination triumphed over the European team, with Brazil winning in straight sets. The 3-0 win saw the green and yellow finish top of the group and, in theory, secure an easier opponent in the quarter-finals.

In the men's competition, the quarter-finals will see a flawless Italy, fresh from their win over Poland, as the favourites for the gold medal. They took on Japan for a place in the semi-finals.

In the afternoon, the host nation looked to book their place in the semi-finals against the formidable Germany in a match that will be watched closely across France.

The rest of the matches kicked off on Monday with Slovenia taking on Poland at 9:00 CEST, followed by the highlight match between the USA and Brazil. The clash between the Pan-American teams will take place at the Paris South Arena was the last of the day.