Volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Women's volleyball at the Games of the Olympiad
Venue	South Paris Arena 1
Date	28 July – 11 August
Competitors	144 from 12 nations
Medalists
ITA (1st title)  USA  BRA
← 2020 2028 →

The women's volleyball tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics was a big event! It was the 16th time women's volleyball was played at the Summer Olympics. The FIVB and the IOC worked together to organize it. The games happened in Paris, France, from July 28 to August 11, 2024.

For the first time ever, teams could have one extra player. This player was a "non-competing athlete" (AP). They could replace a teammate who got injured or sick. This meant teams could have 13 players instead of the usual 12.

Olympic Volleyball Schedule: When the Games Happened

The schedule for all the matches was shared on June 26, 2024. The games took place over several days.

How Teams Qualified for the Olympics

To play in the Olympics, teams had to qualify. This means they had to earn their spot by doing well in other competitions. Twelve teams made it to the 2024 Summer Olympics.

How the Tournament Worked: Game Format Explained

The way the tournament was set up changed for these Olympics. In the past, teams were in two groups. For 2024, there were three groups, each with four teams.

Preliminary Round: Group Stage Games

In the first part, called the preliminary round, each team in a group played against every other team in their group once. This is called a round-robin format.

After these games, the top two teams from each of the three groups moved on. Also, the two best third-place teams from all groups combined got to move forward.

Knockout Stage: Winning to Stay In

The next part was the knockout stage. This means if a team lost a match, they were out of the tournament. It started with the quarterfinals.

• Quarterfinals: Eight teams played. The teams were ranked from 1 to 8 based on how well they did in the preliminary round. The 1st ranked team played the 8th, 2nd played 7th, and so on.
• Semifinals: The four winners from the quarterfinals played each other.
• Medal Matches:
  • The two teams that lost in the semifinals played for the bronze medal (third place).
  • The two teams that won in the semifinals played for the gold medal (first place) and the silver medal (second place).

The Draw: How Teams Were Grouped

The twelve teams that qualified were placed into groups. This was done based on their FIVB World Ranking from June 17, 2024.

France, as the host country, was automatically placed in Pool A. The next two highest-ranked teams were put at the top of Pools B and C. The other nine teams were then put into three "pots" based on their ranking. They were then drawn one by one into the groups using a special system called the serpentine system. The draw happened on June 19, 2024.

Seeding: Top Teams and Pots

This table shows how teams were ranked and put into different groups for the draw:

Seeded teams	Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3
FRA  BRA  ITA	TUR  POL  USA	CHN  JPN  NED	SRB  DOM  KEN

Pools Composition: Who Played Who in Groups

Here are the teams that ended up in each group for the preliminary round:

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C
FRA (Hosts)	BRA (1)	ITA (2)
USA (5)	POL (4)	TUR (3)
CHN (6)	JPN (7)	NED (8)
SRB (9)	KEN (20)	DOM (11)

How Teams Were Ranked in Pools

After the group games, teams were ranked using these rules:

• The team with the most matches won ranked highest.
• If teams had the same number of wins, they looked at "match points."
  • Winning 3–0 or 3–1 gave 3 match points.
  • Winning 3–2 gave 2 match points.
  • Losing 3–2 gave 1 match point.
  • Losing 3–0 or 3–1 gave 0 match points.
• If still tied, they looked at the ratio of sets won to sets lost.
• Then, the ratio of points won to points lost.
• Finally, the result of the game between the tied teams.

Referees: The Officials for the Games

These are the referees who made sure the games were fair:

Preliminary Round: Group Stage Results

All times listed are for Paris, France (Central European Summer Time).

Pool A: Standings and Matches

29 July 2024 (2024-07-29) 17:00	United States	2–3	CHN	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,434 Referees: Sumie Myoi (JPN), Karina Rene (ARG)
	(20–25, 19–25, 25–17, 25–20, 13–15)

29 July 2024 (2024-07-29) 21:00	France	0–3	SRB	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,350 Referees: Nurper Özbar (TUR), Epaminondas Gerothodoros (GRE)
	(17–25, 17–25, 22–25)

31 July 2024 (2024-07-31) 17:00	United States	3–2	SRB	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,384 Referees: Juraj Mokrý (SVK), Karina Rene (ARG)
	(25–17, 25–20, 20–25, 14–25, 17–15)

1 August 2024 (2024-08-01) 21:00	France	0–3	CHN	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,434 Referees: Wael Kandil (EGY), Ivaylo Ivanov (BUL)
	(18–25, 16–25, 19–25)

4 August 2024 (2024-08-04) 13:00	France	0–3	USA	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,402 Referees: Ivaylo Ivanov (BUL), Scott Dziewirz (CAN)
	(27–29, 27–29, 20–25)

4 August 2024 (2024-08-04) 17:00	China	3–1	SRB	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,395 Referees: Karina Rene (ARG), Angela Grass (BRA)
	(21–25, 25–20, 25–22, 29–27)

Pool B: Standings and Matches

28 July 2024 (2024-07-28) 13:00	Poland	3–1	JPN	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,162 Referees: Karina Rene (ARG), Wang Ziling (CHN)
	(20–25, 25–22, 25–23, 28–26)

29 July 2024 (2024-07-29) 13:00	Brazil	3–0	KEN	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,275 Referees: Wang Ziling (CHN), Juraj Mokrý (SVK)
	(25–14, 25–13, 25–12)

31 July 2024 (2024-07-31) 21:00	Poland	3–0	KEN	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,447 Referees: Angela Grass (BRA), Wael Kandil (EGY)
	(25–14, 25–17, 25–15)

1 August 2024 (2024-08-01) 13:00	Brazil	3–0	JPN	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,410 Referees: Epaminondas Gerothodoros (GRE), Nurper Özbar (TUR)
	(25–20, 25–17, 25–18)

3 August 2024 (2024-08-03) 13:00	Japan	3–0	KEN	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,439 Referees: Hamid Al-Rousi (UAE), Angela Grass (BRA)
	(25–17, 25–22, 25–12)

4 August 2024 (2024-08-04) 21:00	Brazil	3–0	POL	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,505 Referees: Fabrice Collados (FRA), Denny Cespedes (DOM)
	(25–21, 38–36, 25–14)

Pool C: Standings and Matches

28 July 2024 (2024-07-28) 09:00	Italy	3–1	DOM	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,368 Referees: Nurper Özbar (TUR), Angela Grass (BRA)
	(25–19, 24–26, 25–21, 25–18)

29 July 2024 (2024-07-29) 09:00	Turkey	3–2	NED	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,471 Referees: Denny Cespedes (DOM), Stefano Cesare (ITA)
	(19–25, 19–25, 25–22, 25–22, 15–13)

1 August 2024 (2024-08-01) 09:00	Turkey	3–1	DOM	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,465 Referees: Karina Rene (ARG), Fabrice Collados (FRA)
	(21–25, 25–18, 25–22, 25–15)

1 August 2024 (2024-08-01) 17:00	Italy	3–0	NED	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,400 Referees: Angela Grass (BRA), Sumie Myoi (JPN)
	(29–27, 25–18, 25–19)

3 August 2024 (2024-08-03) 09:00	Netherlands	1–3	DOM	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,433 Referees: Scott Dziewirz (CAN), Ivaylo Ivanov (BUL)
	(25–22, 21–25, 17–25, 26–28)

4 August 2024 (2024-08-04) 09:00	Italy	3–0	TUR	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,384 Referees: Sumie Myoi (JPN), Hamid Al-Rousi (UAE)
	(25–14, 25–16, 25–21)

Combined Ranking: All Teams Ranked

This table shows how all 12 teams were ranked after the preliminary round, combining results from all pools.

Knockout Stage: The Road to Medals

This is where the competition got even more exciting! Teams had to win to keep playing.

Bracket: How Teams Advanced

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Gold medal match
	6 August
	BRA	3
					8 August
	DOM	0
					BRA	2
	6 August
					USA	3
	USA	3
									11 August
	POL	0
									USA	0
	6 August
									ITA	3
	CHN	2
					8 August
	TUR	3
					TUR	0
	6 August
					ITA	3			Bronze medal match
	ITA	3
									10 August
	SRB	0
									BRA	3
									TUR	1

Quarter-finals: The Top Eight Battle It Out

These matches decided which four teams would move on to the semifinals.

6 August 2024 (2024-08-06) 09:00	China	2–3	TUR	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,271 Referees: Scott Dziewirz (CAN), Hamid Al-Rousi (UAE)
	(25–23, 21–25, 24–26, 25–21, 12–15)

6 August 2024 (2024-08-06) 13:00	Brazil	3–0	DOM	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,315 Referees: Sumie Myoi (JPN), Stefano Cesare (ITA)
	(25–22, 25–13, 25–17)

6 August 2024 (2024-08-06) 17:00	United States	3–0	POL	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,244 Referees: Karina Rene (ARG), Vladimir Simonović (SUI)
	(25–22, 25–14, 25–20)

6 August 2024 (2024-08-06) 21:00	Italy	3–0	SRB	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,253 Referees: Fabrice Collados (FRA), Epaminondas Gerothodoros (GRE)
	(26–24, 25–20, 25–20)

Semi-finals: Who Made It to the Finals?

Only four teams remained to compete for a spot in the gold medal match.

8 August 2024 (2024-08-08) 16:00	Brazil	2–3	USA	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,253 Referees: Juraj Mokrý (SVK), Karina Rene (ARG)
	(23–25, 25–18, 15–25, 25–23, 11–15)

8 August 2024 (2024-08-08) 20:00	Turkey	0–3	ITA	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,309 Referees: Wojciech Maroszek (POL), Sumie Myoi (JPN)
	(22–25, 19–25, 22–25)

Bronze Medal Match: Third Place Showdown

The teams that lost in the semifinals played for the bronze medal.

10 August 2024 (2024-08-10) 17:15	Brazil	3–1	TUR	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,151 Referees: Sumie Myoi (JPN), Karina Rene (ARG)
	(25–21, 27–25, 22–25, 25–15)

Gold Medal Match: The Grand Final

The two best teams played for the gold medal and the title of Olympic champions!

11 August 2024 (2024-08-11) 13:00	United States	0–3	ITA	South Paris Arena 1, Paris Attendance: 9,340 Referees: Fabrice Collados (FRA), Wojciech Maroszek (POL)
	(18–25, 20–25, 17–25)

Final Standing: Who Finished Where

Here's how all the teams ranked at the end of the tournament:

Rank Team  ITA  USA  BRA 4  TUR 5  CHN 6  POL 7  SRB 8  DOM 9  JPN 10  NED 11  FRA 12  KEN

2024 Women's Olympic champions  Italy 1st title 12–woman roster Marina Lubian, Carlotta Cambi, Ilaria Spirito, Monica De Gennaro, Alessia Orro, Caterina Bosetti, Anna Danesi (c), Myriam Sylla, Paola Egonu, Sarah Luisa Fahr, Loveth Omoruyi, Ekaterina Antropova, Gaia Giovannini Head coach Julio Velasco

Medalists: The Teams on the Podium

Here are the teams and players who won medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics!

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Italy Marina Lubian Carlotta Cambi Ilaria Spirito Monica De Gennaro Alessia Orro Caterina Bosetti Anna Danesi (c) Myriam Sylla Paola Egonu Sarah Luisa Fahr Loveth Omoruyi Ekaterina Antropova Gaia Giovannini Head coach: Julio Velasco	United States Micha Hancock Jordyn Poulter (c) Avery Skinner Justine Wong-Orantes Lauren Carlini Jordan Larson Annie Drews Jordan Thompson Haleigh Washington Dana Rettke Kathryn Plummer Kelsey Robinson Cook Chiaka Ogbogu Head coach: Karch Kiraly	Brazil Nyeme Costa Diana Duarte Macris Carneiro Thaísa Menezes Rosamaria Montibeller Roberta Ratzke Gabriela Guimarães (c) Ana Cristina de Souza Natália Araújo (L) Ana Carolina da Silva Júlia Bergmann Tainara Santos Lorenne Teixeira Head coach: Zé Roberto

Awards: Best Players of the Tournament

These special awards were given out on August 11, 2024, to recognize the best players in different positions.

Position	Player
Most valuable player	Paola Egonu
Setter	Alessia Orro
Outside hitters	Myriam Sylla
	Gabriela Guimarães
Middle blockers	Chiaka Ogbogu
	Anna Danesi
Opposite spiker	Paola Egonu
Libero	Monica De Gennaro

More About Volleyball at the Olympics

• Volleyball at the Summer Olympics
• Volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament
• Beach volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament
• Sitting volleyball at the 2024 Summer Paralympics - Women's tournament
• 2024 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League