Four games are on the slate on the women's side of the 2024 Paris Olympics volleyball tournament on Monday.
The matchups are headlined by the defending Olympic Champions and fifth-ranked United States taking on China in Pool A. That game is later on in the day, but before that there were two great matchups to watch featuring some of the best teams in the world.
It all kicked off with third-ranked Turkiye taking on the eighth-ranked Netherlands in Pool C.
Pool C: Turkiye 3, Netherlands 2
On the brink of being on the wrong end of a massive upset, Turkiye gave us one of the great results of these Olympic Games so far with an epic two-set comeback.
The first set was a game of runs as Turkiye got out to a 6-2 lead, but the Netherlands answered back with a 9-4 run to take an 11-10 lead. The teams stayed tight through the middle part of the set and were tied 16-16 when the Netherlands went on the decisive run of the set, winning nine of the next 12 points to take a 25-19 win.
The second set was all Netherlands as Turkiye simply had no answers for the Dutch attack. The Netherlands got off to an 11-5 lead thanks in part to a 5-0 run, with Turkiye answering back to make it 11-9. That was as close as it got, though, as the Netherlands would go on an emphatic 10-2 run to take a stranglehold on the set and the match. Turkiye made a late push, but the Dutch sealed the set with a massive spike to win 25-19 again.
Turkiye looked down-and-out after two sets, but showed the resolve that has made it the third-ranked team in the world. Facing a three-set loss at 14-11, the Turks went on an 7-2 run to take an 18-16 lead. The Netherlands would answer back and knot things up at 22, but Turkiye scored the final three points of the set to win 25-22 and stay alive.
The Turks would do more than just stay alive, as they would once again come back late in a set. The Netherlands held a 21-18 lead, but Turkiye picked itself up off the floor and finished on a 7-1 run to send the match to a decisive fifth set with another 25-22 win.
The fifth set was as tight as could be, with the two teams rarely ever separated by more than a point. In the end, Turkiye was just too strong and was able to outlast the underdog Netherlands, winning the set 15-13. The start of the match, Cuban-born Melissa Vargas, fittingly finished the match with a furious spike for her 30th point of the night.
Turkiye pick up two points for the 3-2 win, while the Netherlands will leave with a disappointing point after being three points away from a straight-set win. The Dutch will have to pick themselves back up against top-ranked Italy Thursday at 11 a.m ET, while Turkiye is back in action against the Dominican Republic Thursday at 3 a.m.
Pool B: Brazil 3, Kenya 0
Brazil-Kenya was arguably the most lopsided matchup of the entire tournament on paper as No. 2 Brazil has as many Olympic gold medals (2) as No. 20 Kenya has set wins in its 15 Olympic matches.
In Tokyo, Brazil fell just short of its third gold, losing to the United States in the final. The Brazilians looked to be on a mission to start their redemption arc at these Paris Olympics.
They flew out of the gates with a dominant 25-14 first-set win led by five points from Rosamaria.
Brazil was even more dominant in the second set, going 14-for-24 on the attack with six blocks. Things were close earlier with Brazil leading 8-6, but the Brazilians reeled off a 17-7 run to finish out a 25-13 set win.
It was more of the same in the third as Brazil cruised home with a 25-12 win to finish off the clean sweep.
Brazil is now tied with Poland atop the Group B and faces Japan in its next match Thursday at 7 a.m. Things get no easier for the Kenyans, who face fourth-ranked Poland Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Pool A: China 3, United States 2
In what would have been the second epic comeback of the day, Team USA fell just short against China in the opening match of Pool A.
The Americans trailed two sets to none and looked down-and out, when head coach Karch Karaily turned to Avery Skinner and Kathryn Plummer off the bench to spark the offense. It worked, with those two leading the way alongside Annie Drews to force a fifth set.
In the end, China's middle defense and attack was just too much for the Americans as the Chinese outlasted them to win the fifth set. China was led by 26 points from Li Yingying and 17 points from Zhu Ting. Middle blocker, Yuan Xinyue, anchored an incredible defensive effort with 12 points and four blocks alongside libero, Wang Megnjie, who had 13 digs.
As a result of the 3-2 win, China comes away with two points while Team USA leaves with two.
Next up for the Americans is two-time defending world champion, Serbia, on Wednesday at 11 a.m., and China faces Olympic debutants, France, on Thursday at 3 p.m.
Pool A: Serbia 3, France 0
The hosts are making their first ever appearance in women's Olympic volleyball and were well overmatched against the two-time defending world champions, Serbia.
Despite falling to ninth in the world rankings, Serbia is still one of the best and most dangerous sides in the tournament and they showed it Monday night in Paris.
France managed to keep the first set close, staying within a point at 15-14. From there it was all Serbia, which closed out the set on a 10-2 run to win by a commanding score of 25-17.
The Serbs took the second set by the same score, but this time it was not nearly as close. Serbia held a comfortable margin throughout the set and imposed its will on France.
Serbia opened the third set with five straight points and while France survived three match points, there was never a real threat as Serbia cruised home 25-22. The Serbian attack was extremely efficient with three players racking up double-figure points.
Serbia collects all three points with the 3-0 win and has a showdown with Team USA Wednesday at 11 a.m. France will face China Thursday at 3 p.m.