Volleyball, fourth blowout for Italy'Italy

The only consolation is that there is only one match left until the end of the ordeal. Women’s Italvolley stumbles into its fourth defeat out of four matches in an Olympic tournament that has become a nightmare. After Serbia, China and the Netherlands, the United States also drowned Bonitta’s girls, whose elimination is now certified.

On the court with the world championship under their belts, Lo Bianco and her teammates had to settle for avoiding the fourth 0-3, getting a paltry one set. However, the partials hinted at a balanced match: 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20. The decisive points, however, were all Americans.

Italy will close on Sunday against Puerto Rico, also stopped at zero points. After three consecutive fifth-place finishes, the Azzurri are thus eliminated at the first stage as they have not been since Sydney 2000.