# Volleyball at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

The men's tournament in volleyball at the 1988 Summer Olympics was the 7th edition of the event at the Summer Olympics, organized by the world's governing body, the FIVB in conjunction with the IOC. It was held in Seoul, South Korea from 17 September to 2 October 1988.

## Qualification

| Means of qualification | Date | Host | Vacancies | Qualified |
| Host Country | 30 September 1981 | Baden-Baden | 1 | South Korea |
| 1984 Olympic Games | 29 July – 11 August 1984 | Los Angeles | 1 | United States |
| 1985 World Cup | 22 November – 1 December 1985 | Japan | 1 | Soviet Union |
| 1986 World Championship | 25 September – 5 October 1986 | France | 1 | Bulgaria |
| 1st World Qualifier | 10–17 May 1987 | Brasília | 1 | Argentina |
| 1987 African Championship | December 1987 | Tunis | 1 | Tunisia |
| 1987 Asian Championsnip | 15–25 October 1987 | Kuwait City | 1 | Japan |
| 1987 European Championship | 25 September – 3 October 1987 | Belgium | 1 | France |
| 1987 NORCECA Championship | 12–19 June 1987 | Havana | 1 | Cuba Italy* |
| 1987 South American Championship | 20–27 September 1987 | Montevideo | 1 | Brazil |
| 2nd World Qualifier | 31 January – 7 February 1988 | Amsterdam | 1 | Netherlands |
| 3rd World Qualifier | 20–25 May 1988 | Florence | 1 | Sweden |
| Total | Total | Total | 12 | |

## Pools composition

| Pool A | Pool B |
| South Korea (Hosts) | Argentina |
| Brazil | France |
| Bulgaria | Japan |
| Sweden | Netherlands |
| Italy | Tunisia |
| Soviet Union | United States |

## Venues

| Main venue | Sub venue | Sub venue |
| Seoul, South Korea | Seoul, South Korea | Seoul, South Korea |
| Jamsil Gymnasium | Hanyang University Gymnasium | Saemaul Sports Hall |
| Capacity: 13,409 | Capacity: 8,000 | Capacity: 4,500 |
| | No Image | No Image |

## Preliminary round
### Pool A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 5 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 3.500 | 248 | 190 | 1.305 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Brazil | 5 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 2.000 | 296 | 225 | 1.316 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Sweden | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 0.818 | 220 | 262 | 0.840 | 5th–8th semifinals |
| 4 | Bulgaria | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 0.778 | 190 | 194 | 0.979 | 5th–8th semifinals |
| 5 | Italy | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 0.636 | 203 | 222 | 0.914 | 9th–12th semifinals |
| 6 | South Korea | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 0.357 | 200 | 264 | 0.758 | 9th–12th semifinals |

### Pool B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 5.000 | 263 | 155 | 1.697 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Argentina | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 1.571 | 219 | 211 | 1.038 | Semifinals |
| 3 | France | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 1.429 | 222 | 190 | 1.168 | 5th–8th semifinals |
| 4 | Netherlands | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 1.429 | 202 | 183 | 1.104 | 5th–8th semifinals |
| 5 | Japan | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 0.417 | 182 | 225 | 0.809 | 9th–12th semifinals |
| 6 | Tunisia | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0.000 | 101 | 225 | 0.449 | 9th–12th semifinals |

## Final round
### 9th–12th places

| 9th–12th semifinals | 9th–12th semifinals | 9th place match | 9th place match |
| 28 September | 28 September |
| Italy | 3 |
| Italy | 3 | 30 September | 30 September |
| Tunisia | 0 | 30 September | 30 September |
| Tunisia | 0 | Italy | 3 |
| 28 September | 28 September | | Italy | 3 |
| 28 September | 28 September | Japan | 2 |
| South Korea | 2 | Japan | 2 |
| Japan | 3 | | |
| Japan | 3 | 11th place match | 11th place match |
| | | 30 September | 30 September |
| | | Tunisia | 0 |
| | | South Korea | 3 |

#### 9th place match
### 5th–8th places

| 5th–8th semifinals | 5th–8th semifinals | 5th place match | 5th place match |
| 28 September | 28 September |
| Sweden | 2 |
| Sweden | 2 | 1 October | 1 October |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 October | 1 October |
| Netherlands | 3 | Netherlands | 3 |
| 28 September | 28 September | | Netherlands | 3 |
| 28 September | 28 September | Bulgaria | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 3 | Bulgaria | 0 |
| France | 0 | | |
| France | 0 | 7th place match | 7th place match |
| | | 1 October | 1 October |
| | | Sweden | 3 |
| | | France | 2 |

#### 5th place match
### Final four

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Gold medal match | Gold medal match |
| 30 September | 30 September |
| Soviet Union | 3 |
| Soviet Union | 3 | 2 October | 2 October |
| Argentina | 0 | 2 October | 2 October |
| Argentina | 0 | Soviet Union | 1 |
| 30 September | 30 September | | Soviet Union | 1 |
| 30 September | 30 September | United States | 3 |
| Brazil | 0 | United States | 3 |
| United States | 3 | | |
| United States | 3 | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match |
| | | 2 October | 2 October |
| | | Argentina | 3 |
| | | Brazil | 2 |

#### Gold medal match
## Final standing

| Rank | Team |
| | United States |
| | Soviet Union |
| | Argentina |
| 4 | Brazil |
| 5 | Netherlands |
| 6 | Bulgaria |
| 7 | Sweden |
| 8 | France |
| 9 | Italy |
| 10 | Japan |
| 11 | South Korea |
| 12 | Tunisia |
* 1988 Men's Olympic champions
* United States 2nd title
* 12–man roster
* Troy Tanner, Dave Saunders, Jon Root, Bob Ctvrtlik, Douglas Partie, Steve Timmons, Craig Buck, Scott Fortune, Ricci Luyties, Jeff Stork, Eric Sato, Karch Kiraly (c)
* Head coach
* Marv Dunphy

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| United States (USA)Troy Tanner Dave Saunders Jon Root Bob Ctvrtlik Douglas Partie Steve Timmons Craig Buck Scott Fortune Ricci Luyties Jeff Stork Eric Sato Karch Kiraly (c) Head coach: Marv Dunphy | Soviet Union (URS)Yuriy Panchenko Andrei Kuznetsov Vyacheslav Zaytsev Igor Runov Vladimir Shkurikhin Evgeni Krasilnikov Raimonds Vilde Valeri Losev Yuri Sapega Oleksandr Sorokalet Yaroslav Antonov Yuri Cherednik Head coach: Vladimir Kondra | Argentina (ARG)Claudio Zulianello Daniel Castellani Esteban Martínez Alejandro Diz Daniel Colla Javier Weber Hugo Conte Waldo Kantor Raúl Quiroga Jon Uriarte Esteban de Palma Juan Cuminetti Head coach: Luis Muchaga |

## Awards

* Most valuable player
    Karch Kiraly
* Best spiker
    Andrea Gardini
* Best blocker
    Steve Timmons
* Best server
    Ron Zwerver
* Best digger
    Eizaburo Mitsuhashi
* Best setter
    Ferdinando De Giorgi
* Best receiver
    Bob Ctvrtlik