I was wrong... We won our pool!! The Jr USA staff was mentally preparing for Argentina, Serbia and India, but since it took Brazil five sets to beat Bulgaria, the tie breaker goes to the team with the best ratio of sets. Advantage USA by .024! We now prepare for Iran, Spain and Russia as the top team from Pool A. If this tie break method sounds strange, you only have to go back to the 2000 Olympic Games in Athens where the rules changed after a team strategically jockeyed for a desirable match up.

No foul play here though! All of these teams are evenly matched and play with a ton of emotion. At any moment, a team can catch fire and run off a string of points! This is what makes this tournament so exciting to watch.

The boys and staff earned a day off today. We enjoyed a late breakfast and then clear skies after a lot of rain last night. It was a perfect day to visit the Cristo Redentor statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Eighteen of us jumped on a public bus for a 45 minute crowded ride across this city of 6 million. We then chartered a van up the mountain to enjoy the awe inspiring statue and 360 degree view of this beautiful city. It seems as though monkeys and lemurs also enjoy the taste of "facon" chips besides Cook, Cassidy and Olbright. What a great call to charter the van back to the hotel instead of relying on a midday public bus. Nice job staff!

The rest of the day was spent re-charging in Ipanema and Copa as the staff broke down video of Iran. two years ago, this same team took down the potential finalist Iran in pool play at the Youth World Championship in Italy. Trust me, Team Iran remembers so we are ready for a passionate match by this efficient and experienced team.

Onward to round two! Our tournament is down to the top 8 teams in the world.

Matches Friday through Saturday are at 4pm Rio Time. That is noon on the west coast! We wear Red, White and Blue. The boys look good... and a bit more confident.

Here we go.