If you did not happen to catch any women’s volleyball at this year’s Olympic Games, let me quickly summarize: Italy dominated. Period. The Italian women not only never lost a match in Paris, they only dropped one set in the entire tournament.

PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 11: Team Italy pose for a team photo after their victory during the Women’s … [+] Gold Medal match between Team United States and Team Italy on day sixteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris Arena on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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Olympic Women’s Volleyball

I love women’s volleyball. As the parent of a daughter who played division I college volleyball, I got hooked on the game several years ago. Six athletes in two rows of three each working together in a relatively small area (59 feet by 29 feet 6 inches). It is a beautiful combination of teamwork, grace and power. At the net in Olympic competition (which is set at 7’11 ⅝ “ high) it has become common to see women from 6’2” to 6’8” tall, while a defensive specialist (libero) in the back row is usually under 6 feet tall. And whereas the points in men’s volleyball tend to come quickly and violently (bump-set-kill) the women can often keep the ball in play for long and entertaining volleys.

PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 11: (EDITORS NOTE: Image was captured using a remote camera positioned above … [+] the field of play) A general view is seen during the Women’s Gold Medal match between Team United States and Team Italy on day sixteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris Arena on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

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Beginnings

Volleyball was actually first played as an exhibition event 100 years ago in Paris at the 1924 Olympic Games. It would be 40 more years before it would be officially introduced as an Olympic sport for men and women in Tokyo in 1964.

Lou Galloway #4 of the United States attempts to spike the ball against the defence of Rumania … [+] during their Women’s Olympic Volleyball Tournament match on 13th October 1964 during the XVIII Summer Olympic Games at the Komazawa Volleyball Courts, Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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A match is the 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. In Paris this year for the first time the field was divided into three pools of four teams (In the past it was two pools of six teams).

Team USA: An Historic Power

Team USA has had sustained success at several Olympic games going back to 1984 in Los Angeles where the team won silver and finished second. Team USA would medal at five more Olympic Games after 1984, including winning gold for the first time ever in Tokyo in 2020. And the 2024 squad that came to Paris included veterans from the 2020 gold medal team, and loaded with talent and experience. They would be led by Jordan Larson, a 37-year old 3-time Olympic medalist who was tournament MVP in Tokyo when Team USA won gold. Larson has been on the national team since 2009.

PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 29: Jordan Larson #10 of Team United States digs the ball during the Women’s … [+] Preliminary Round – Pool A match between the United States and China on day three of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris Arena on July 29, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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And In This Corner: Team Italy

The Italian women’s volleyball team is a relative newcomer to Olympic volleyball first appearing at the 2000 Games in Sydney Australia where they finished ninth. They would finish fifth at the next three Games, then ninth again at Rio in 2016 and finally sixth in Tokyo in 2020. Prior to 2024 the Italian women had never won an Olympic medal. They had never even won an Olympic quarterfinal. The Americans, Italian captain Anna Danesi noted prior to the final, “are very used to playing matches like these, while we’re still kind of new to them.”

That would all change in Paris.

Total Domination

The Italian Team that came to Paris was ranked #1 in the world and rolled through pool play losing just one set in round one of the entire tournament to the Dominican Republic. Thereafter they would win every single match 3-0 including the final against Team USA. The final was billed as a clash of the world’s top-ranked teams but from the very start it was clear Italy was in a league of their own.

Paola Ogechi Egonu top of Italy spikes during the volleyball women’s gold medal match between Italy … [+] and the United States at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France on Aug. 11, 2024. (Photo by Ju Huanzong/Xinhua via Getty Images)

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In set one, Italy would go up 5-1 and 12-6, forcing U.S. coach Karch Kiraly to call two early timeouts. The Italians fed their star, Paola Egonu, who spiked and dinked the Americans to death with 11 first-set points.

They were superior, it seemed, in every aspect of the game, and also pulled away in set No. 2. They rose for forceful blocks totaling 11 for the match against zero for the US. Italy would win each set by large margins (in order): 25-18, 25-20, and 25-17 respectively.

The third set ended with Jordan Thompson’s hit landing out of bounds, and the team Italy collapsed on the floor in a sea of hugs and lifted libero Monica de Gennaro in the air.

PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 11: Team Italy celebrate victory during the Women’s Gold Medal match between … [+] Team United States and Team Italy on day sixteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris Arena on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

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“They are the best team in the world right now,” Setter Jordyn Poulter said. “I don’t think there’s much more that we could have done.”

MVP Paola Egonu

6’ 5” Opposite Hitter Paola Egonu was a big reason for Italy’s success. The 25-year old Opposite was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Egonu led Italy in the tournament with 95 kills, seven blocks and one ace. She was especially important against Team USA with 18 kills in the championship match. Egonu is not only tall, she can jump out of the gym. Years ago in international competition she would earn the nickname “Monster of the Vertical Jump.”

Ironically one big reason for the recent success of the Italian women is the growth of the pro leagues in Italy. The pro league was founded 80 years ago in 1946. Since the 1980’s many of the best women players in the world have played in the Superlega, including many American players. It is now considered the best pro league in the world.

BUSTO ARSIZIO, ITALY – 2024/12/04: Silke Van Avermaet #6 of UYBA Eurotek Volley Busto Arsizio seen … [+] in action during Volley Serie A women 2024/25 match between UYBA Eurotek Volley Busto Arsizio and Bartoccini-Mc Restauri Perugia at E-Work Arena. Final score : UYBA Busto A. 3:1 Perugia. (Photo by Fabrizio Carabelli/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Up until now there was no pro league for women in the US. if someone wanted to play after college they went overseas to places like Italy, Russia and Korea. But no longer. The Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) is a women’s professional indoor volleyball league in the United States. The league was announced on November 17, 2022 and began play in 2024.