Women’s Olympic Volleyball Odds & Picks – Gold & Bronze Medal Games

• The United States will battle Brazil for Gold in Women’s Volleyball
• Serbia is a heavy favorite to beat South Korea for Bronze
• See the odds for each matchup on Saturday’s slate at the Olympics and best bets

It’s taken a full two weeks to get here, but the hardware is getting handed out in Women’s Volleyball at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The United States and Brazil will square off for the gold just as the clock turns to Sunday on the east coast (12:30am ET), while Serbia will take on the upstart South Koreans, who will be looking for their first medal in this event since Montreal 1976. That match starts Saturday night at 8pm ET.

Both the gold and bronze medal matches will air live from Ariake Arena on the USA Network, and they can also be streamed on NBC.

Let’s look at the matchups and find your best bets to finish off this eventful tournament.

United States vs Brazil Odds

Odds as of August 7th at DraftKings

Americans Seek Redemption

No matter what happens early Sunday, the Americans will improve on their bronze-medal finish at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. They’ve earned full marks to get to the title match, needing to dispatch an elite Serbian side in the semifinals – a team that took them out in this same scenario in last Olympics en route to a silver medal.

VOLLEYBALL: USA Women's Volleyball is off to the Gold Medal game for the first time since 2012, defeating Serbia 25-19, 25-15, 25-23.

The American women are looking to win their first-ever gold medal in Volleyball at the Summer Olympics.#Tokyo2020 #TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/xCWzl5Jjdo

— Lukas Weese (@Weesesports) August 6, 2021

Paced by the work of Annie Drews, who scored 17 points in the semifinal, the US swept the Serbians in straight sets: 25-19, 25-15, 25-23. The team was also buoyed by the play of veterans Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson and Jordan Larson, both playing in their third Olympics.

Forced to sit out this matchup in Rio due to injury, Akinradewo Gunderson was a force at the net and with her serve, helping the US advance to the country’s fourth-ever gold medal match. Larson’s block in the first gave her squad nine set points to strike first, while she got the match-ending kill in the third.

Brazil Back in Finals

The US has just one loss on their sheet, but that’s still one more than their opponents on Sunday. After missing out on the podium in Rio, Brazil entered Tokyo with just the sixth-best odds of winning it all, but they’re now in position to claim their third volleyball gold in the last four Olympics.

Their gold medal wins at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 — were both over the United States.

They faced little resistance against the surprising South Korean side, winning three straight sets with identical 25-16 scores in each.

Fernanda Rodrigues led the way with a game-high of 17 points, while their team defense at the net was a factor: four players registered at least three blocks each.

#BRA beat #KOR in straight sets! It’s Brazil vs #USA in the #Gold match! It’s a repeat of the #VNL2021 Final!

Best Scorers:
🇧🇷Fe Garay 17 pts
🇧🇷Gabi 12 pts
🇧🇷Rosamaria 10 pts
🇰🇷Kim Yeonkoung 10 pts
🇰🇷Park Jeonah 10 pts
🇰🇷Kim Heejin 5 pts#OlympicGames #volleyball pic.twitter.com/TDHbqEfTQn

— Volleytrails (@volleytrails) August 6, 2021

Brazil will be be shorthanded in the final as Tandara Caixeta was sent home prior to the Korea match — in what they are calling a  provisional suspension for a potential violation of anti-doping rules.

How many times can the United States — one of the top volleyball programs in the world — come up short on the big stage? They entered this tournament ranked first in the world, and this redemption tour would fit a nice narrative, having dispatched two of their biggest demons to take it all. It won’t be easy: Brazil has dropped just four sets in their 7-0 run to the final.

The pick: United States (-170)

South Korea vs Serbia Odds

Who Rebounds for Bronze?

The Serbians have to be feeling the sting of defeat, after a pretty impressive run in Tokyo. They entered the showdown with the Americans having swept five of their first six matches in the tournament, with their only loss to Brazil.

Tijana Boskovic was a standout performer in the semifinal loss, with 19 total points, 16 on attack and three blocks. This is a team that is not short on talent. Since winning silver in Rio, they won the World Championships in Japan in 2018, with seven members of that team at Tokyo 2020.

SHE CAN’T DO IT ALONE.

PERIODT.

🇯🇵 #Volleyball   #東京2020   #バレーボール   #Tokyo2020  #TokyoHereWeGo pic.twitter.com/bgma9vACiW

— Volleyball World (@volleyballworld) August 6, 2021

Kim Yeon Koung, who is playing in her third and likely final Olympics, had 10 points in the loss to Brazil. Park Jeongah also had 10 points in the loss.

This is a rematch from the prelims, where the Serbians handled South Korea easily, taking the match in straight sets 25-18, 25-17, 25-15. The beat should continue in this one, with little resistance.

https://twitter.com/acetierwense/status/1422749577845776386

There’s no value on the moneyline, so why not wager the total? It should be fast, and painless. These two teams combined for 12 points under this line.

The pick: Under 137.5 (-115)