In their second match of the competition, Aussies Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert gave their all, lining up against world number 3 Team Germany's Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler. The combination won the first set, delivering an exciting and physical performance, but ultimately fell to Germany 2-1 (21-16, 18-21, 17-19).

With strong blocks and three aces from Thomas, the Australians pushed the world number 3 pair to the limit, matching the Germans on attack points (35). Despite their gallant effort, the pair fell just short of a fairytale first Olympic win in a nail-biter, a result that was tough to swallow. 

“It’s heartbreaking. We were right there, and we had to leave it at the end of the set, and a couple of 50/50 balls went their way,” Thomas said. 

“It's a game of millimetres. Few here or there, and we would have won that one. That one really hurts. It will take a little bit to recover from.”

“It's pool play, so the tournament is always still alive,” Zachery added. 

“It most certainly is for us. It’s [the loss] happened, and it's time to move on. We will pick our heads up later today and get ready for the next one.”

With their last pool match two days away, the pair were grateful to the fans for the atmosphere in the crowd, making their performance all the more special. 

“There are flags everywhere; it’s awesome to see,” Thomas said. “It’s such an amazing experience to get to play in front of a crowd like this. 

“Everyone was getting around the volleyball. We were celebrated; Germany was celebrated; it's just a really good atmosphere. I’m glad we could play a successful game. I wanted to win it.”

In the second match of the morning, Australia's other men's pair, Izac Carracher and Mark Nicolaidis, also had a challenging opponent, facing Qatar in their final pool match of the Games.

In a must-win scenario, Izac and Mark fought hard against the in-form pair from Qatar, Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan. Ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be for the Aussies, falling in straight sets 2-0 (21-14, 21-18), and won’t progress to the next stage of competition.

It's been a rollercoaster few months for the Olympic debutants, who only qualified for Paris 2024 a month prior to their arrival in Paris. 

“The Olympic Games were only a dream until a month ago, and then suddenly it was a reality,” Izac said. 

“We threw all our eggs into this basket. We gave it everything, and I'm sure we'll have time to sit down and reflect over the next couple weeks.

“It's disappointing. We would have loved to go a bit further. It’s the most amazing venue we've ever played in. Probably the biggest stage in our sport. We didn't get the results we wanted, but hopefully we will be back in LA 2028.” Izac said.

Mariafe Antacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy, the Australian women's pair, will be back on court for their final pool match against Canada on August 1 at 10 pm AEST.

On August 3 at 6pm AEST, Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert will compete in their final pool match against Remi Bassereau and Julien Lyneel from host nation France.

Shannon Knaus