The American team had not featured on the opening day of the finals at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, but made a bright start to their Pool B match.

They edged the opening set 28-26 to push Poland closer to elimination, with the Europeans having lost their first match to Russia yesterday in the three-team group.

A second consecutive defeat loomed when the US team claimed the second set 25-17, putting the Americans on the cusp of victory.

The US sealed the win by claiming the third set 25-18, with the result putting them at the top of the Pool B standings.

Their victory confirmed the US and Russia will feature in the semi-finals on Saturday (July 7), but the two teams will meet tomorrow to decide who qualifies as the pool winners.

Defeat signalled Poland’s final match of the competition.

Olympic champions Brazil bounced back from their defeat to France yesterday to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.

They produced an impressive display to see off the challenge of Serbia.

Brazil claimed the opening set of the Group A match 25-16, before edging a tightly fought second 28-26.

Despite the best efforts of the Serbian team, Brazil claimed the third set 25-19 to secure a straight sets victory.

Brazil now top the Pool A standings, with France lying second.

Serbia will need to beat France tomorrow to stand any chance of reaching the semi-finals.