The USA men’s volleyball team let two significant leads slip away in the Olympics semifinal versus Italy. The most painful, a 22-19 lead in the fourth set, while holding a 2-1 set lead.

The Italians on the other hand, never let their weak moments keep them down for long. Even a 25-9 embarassment in the third set didn’t deter them from finding a way to win the fourth.

The 30-28, 26-28, 9-25, 25-22, 15-9 battle proved Italy’s incredible mental strength and laid bare the Americans’ vulnerability.

Ivan Zaytsev, the son of Russian Volleyball Hall of Famer Vyacheslav Zaytsev, put Italy on his back, collecting the match highs in aces (5) and team high in kills (16).

The USA men will now play the loser of tonight’s second semifinal between Russia and Brazil in Sunday’s bronze-medal match.