Olympics-U.S. men go through to semis seeking revenge

men's volleyball team defeated Poland in straight sets on Wednesday and moved into the semifinals looking to avenge early upsets that almost knocked the Americans out of the Rio Games.

With eight of its 12 players competing in the Olympics for the first time, the United States outplayed Poland, 25-23 25-22 25-20, ousting a team that had won the 2014 World Championship and two days ago sent home current Olympic champions Russia.

The U.S. team, formed from a crop of barely-graduated college players, got off to a shaky start in Rio losing its first two games to Canada and Italy.

But they learnt fast from their mistakes and came back with a stunning win over hosts Brazil and then overpowered France to stay in Rio.

If Italy down Iran in their quarterfinal match later on Wednesday, the Americans will meet the Italians again in the semis on Friday.

"I want them bad. We want a little revenge," said wing spiker Taylor Sander, among the top three U.S. scorers.

The increasingly confident Americans came into the game against Poland more aggressively than ever and appear to be reaching their best form as they reach the medal-winning phase.

"We are so aggressive, our blocks are in very good spots and defensively we are good because we are serving the ball hard," Sander told Reuters after the game.

U.S. coach John Speraw said his team was on a fast learning curve and responded immediately to some "deep" talks on their game that had given them new direction and "incredible" energy.

"We are all so new. With a team as young as they are, I had a hunch that, if we were going to reach our very best, it was going to take some adversity in this tournament," he said.

"We have made significant strides in our game and we are playing really hard," Speraw told a news conference.

"Our best is ahead of us," he said.

Russia ousted Canada 3-0 earlier on Wednesday and will face either Brazil or Argentina in the semis.