The USA men's indoor volleyball team will not get a chance to defend its gold medal at this year's 2012 London Olympic Games. On Wednesday, the United States lost to Italy 28-26, 25-20, 25-20 in the quarterfinals, eliminating any chances of a repeat. USA, which featured Buffalo, NY native Matthew Anderson, finished the tournament with a 4-2 overall record, while the Italians move on to face Brazil in Friday's semifinals.
The sweep by Italy comes as a bit of a surprise, as it was the last Group A team to qualify for the knock-out stage of the tournament.
The only set the Americans controlled was the first one, which featured them leading most of the way before falling into a 18-18 tie. USA had a handful of set points to possible move ahead 1-0, but Italy rallied to take the set.
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