LONDON (AP) — The last time the U.S. men's volleyball team played Brazil at the Olympics, it capped an emotional run with a stunning upset.
The victory was secured when Clay Stanley's spike sailed toward Brazilian star Giba, who popped the ball out of bounds. Giba crouched on the floor in disbelief, and the U.S. team rushed on the court to celebrate.
But U.S. coach Hugh McCutcheon buried his head in his hands and left, overcome after losing his father-in-law at the start of the Beijing Games in a slaying at a popular Chinese tourist attraction.
The two teams meet in the Olympic arena again on Thursday in a highly anticipated preliminary round match at London's Earls Court.
Brazil is the No. 1-ranked team in the world by volleyball's international governing body, but it faced some questions coming into the London Games after a disappointing finish in the recent FIVB World League tournament, where it failed to make the semifinal for the first time since 1998.
The U.S. men are ranked fifth in the world and weren't considered among the favorites to medal in London. The team is now led by coach Alan Knipe after McCutcheon moved over to the women's team.
The United States claimed the silver medal in the World League tournament before opening the Olympics with encouraging straight-set victories over Serbia and Germany.
Brazil has looked equally strong in London, with sweeps of Tunisia and No. 2 Russia. Coach Bernardo Rezende has rested star Gilberto Godhoy Filho, known universally as Giba, in the preliminary matches, playing the 35-year-old veteran only sparingly.
The United States and Brazil are in a difficult pool in London, joining Russia, Serbia, Germany and Tunisia. In the other pool are Italy, Poland, Argentina, Bulgaria, Australia and host Britain.
The top four teams from each group in the preliminary round will advance to the quarterfinals, and the gold-medal match is set for Aug. 12.
The United States has won three gold medals in volleyball since the sport joined the Olympics in 1964, including its unexpected title in Beijing. Brazil has won gold twice, most recently in the 2004 Athens Games.
"We've played Brazil a bunch of times in the last few years and we're going to take it like any other match," outside hitter Matt Anderson said.
The countries have split 10 Olympic meetings, with the Beijing showdown by far the most dramatic match.
The Americans claimed the gold with a 3-1 victory, capping a courageous run over the two weeks after their coach's father-in-law was stabbed to death in Beijing. Todd Bachman had been sightseeing at the 13th-century Drum Tower in Beijing the day after opening cermonies. The assailant jumped to his death from the tower.
McCutcheon missed the first three games after the death, and assistant Ron Larsen coached the team to three wins. Then Elisabeth McCutcheon — a former volleyball Olympian herself known as "Wiz" — told her husband it was time to go back to work.
Over the course of the games, the underdog Americans were undefeated. Brazil was left with the silver. Russia won the bronze.
McCutcheon now leads the top-ranked U.S. women's team, which is undefeated in preliminary pool play at the London Games. Following the Olympics, McCutcheon will become the women's volleyball coach at Minnesota, a job he accepted last year so he could spend more time with his family.
