Paris Olympics: U.S. men's volleyball team wins bronze after beating Italy

Medal table | Olympic schedule |How to watch | Olympic news

The U.S. men's volleyball team won the bronze medal on Friday defeating Italy 3-0. It is the sixth-ever medal for the American men and their third bronze. They won gold in 1984, 1988 and 2008.

The Americans swept the Italians by taking the three sets 25-23, 30-28 and 26-24.

Aaron Russell (15 points), Torey DeFalco (12) and Max Holt (11) were the standout performers on offense for the Americans. Russell was on the United States' bronze medal-winning team in Rio in 2016.

Alessandro Michieletto and Yuri Romano led the Italians with 17 points apiece.

This was the fifth time since the 1988 Olympics that the American men were playing for a medal. They previously won bronze in 1992 and 2016 and came short for third place in 2004. They have only reached the gold medal match once — 2008 — since their victory at Seoul 1988.