After an exciting day one of the Olympic volleyball tournament that included Germany's stunning upset over Japan on the men's side, plenty of exciting action is in store once again for day two. 

The women's tournament gets underway with top-ranked Italy taking on the Dominican Republic as the Italians look to win their first ever Olympic medal. They enter in tremendous form after winning the 2024 Volleyball Nations League. 

The other match on the women's side comes in Pool B where fourth-ranked Poland takes on seventh-ranked Japan. Poland has not won a medal since it took Bronze in 1968 and is making only its second Olympic appearance since. Japan has not won gold since 1976 and was knocked out easily in Tokyo, but did finish second at the 2024 Volleyball Nations League. This is a crucial match for both teams, as they will likely be fighting for the second and third spots behind Brazil in their pool. 

On the men's side of the draw the defending gold medalists and host nation, France, get their repeat campaign started against 10th-ranked Serbia. The French are hoping to become the first nation to repeat in men's volleyball since Team USA did the double in 1984 and 1988. Their pool is the only one on either side of the tournament that features four teams all in the top 10 in the world rankings.

The final match of matchday one in the men's tournament sees 5th-ranked Slovenia taking on 9th-ranked Canada. Slovenia is one of the dark horses in this tournament as the only country making its Olympic debut, but they are far from a pushover. The Slovenians finished fourth at both the 2022 World Championships and 2024 Nations League, showing they can compete at the highest level. Meanwhile, Canada has never won an Olympic medal in men's volleyball and has been knocked out at the quarterfinals in the last two Olympics. They will likely need to be one of the top two third-place teams if they want to advance to the elimination rounds, so points in this match will be absolutely critical.