US Olympic Volleyball Team: Power Ranking Top Teams in the Field

Team USA's women's volleyball squad will begin its quest for a gold medal on Saturday, looking to capture the first in the team's history. Meanwhile, the men begin their competition on Sunday, looking to repeat their gold medal result of four years ago in Beijing.

Let's take a look at some of the top teams in the field for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Men's

1. Brazil

The Brazilians managed to finish second behind Team USA in the 2008 Olympics and will have a huge chip on their shoulder moving forward. The majority of their top team has remained intact, including their leader and captain, Gilberto Amauri de Godoy Filho.

This is a team with a ton of experience, and that will give them an edge in London. With most of their players returning for this year's run, there is no doubt this team will be as good, if not better, than in 2008.

Brazil has won two gold medals since volleyball became an Olympic event in 1964, and putting talent aside, their past Olympic success alone gives them the credibility and title of the top team in this year's field.

2. United States

The return of Clayton Stanley is a huge boost for this team. Not only is he one of their best players and a leader on this squad, but he was also instrumental in Team USA winning the gold in 2008.

However, Team USA will have to deal with the loss of their coach, Hugh McCutcheon, who left to coach the women's side. McCutcheon was able to overcome tragedy in 2008, and his steady hand no doubt contributed to this squad's success.

Also off the team is former captain Lloy Ball who retired from Olympic competition after the 2008 games. His experience will be sorely missed on the court for Team USA and combined with the loss of McCutcheon, that drops Team USA from the No. 1 spot they earned in 2008.

3. Poland

Poland is currently ranked third in the world coming into the 2012 games in London, but they are coming off a huge win at the 2012 World League where they topped Team USA.

One of the newest names in the sport making a huge splash is none other than 23-year-old spiker Bartosz Kurek. His power will be vital to Poland's success in London, and these Olympics could put Kurek on the international volleyball map for good.

Women's

1. United States

After an impressive 2008 run that saw Team USA land the silver medal, 2012 will be the year in which the women look to take home their first gold as a country.

McCutcheon's choice to coach the women this time around will be a huge boost for this squad. Bringing a little magic from 2008 with him, McCutcheon will hope that rubs off on his current team.

Coming into the games, the USA women's volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the world, and they are coming off winning the 2012 World Grand Prix, their third in-a-row. Opposite hitter Destinee Hooker is the cream of the crop in this sport, and after not participating on the 2008 team, she will be the major difference in this year's team.

2. Brazil

Coming off a 2008 gold medal win over the Americans, the Brazilians are looking to repeat their success in this year's games and tack on yet another piece of gold.

However, their loss to Team USA in the 2012 World Grand Prix is evidence that they aren't the top team coming into these games no matter what their past result was.That should give the returning Olympic champs more than enough motivation to top Team USA once again.

Sporting the 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix's Best Blocker in Thaisa Menezes, Brazil will no doubt be stacked with talent and be one of the elite teams once again.

3. China

Having won two gold medals in this event in past Olympics, it's always safe to assume that China will be a great squad. But this particular squad has been mostly inconsistent since its 2004 gold medal run in Athens, but things are beginning to change.

Key injuries have been a problem in the past, and this squad hasn't been fully healthy for quite some time now. That has greatly affected their play as evidenced by their disappointing fifth-place finish at the 2012 World Grand Prix.

That will all change in London as the Chinese will have a much healthier squad, and most importantly, star spiker Wang Yimei will be 100 percent and ready to give it her all come Olympic time.