<P> Volleyball is one of the sports that is played at the Summer Olympic Games in two disciplines: the traditional six - per - side indoor game, and the newer game of beach volleyball . Indoor volleyball was added to the Olympic programme in 1957 at the 53rd session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Sofia, Bulgaria, and the first competitions were held at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo . The Soviet Union won a medal in both the men's and women's competition at the first five Olympics that included volleyball, including the men's gold medal in Tokyo . The Japanese women's team won the gold at the inaugural Olympic volleyball competition, and the silver at the following two Games . The Montreal Games of 1976 saw the Polish men win the nation's only gold medal in the sport, after the women had won bronze in 1964 and 1968 . At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the hosts won gold in both competitions . The Bulgarian team won their only two volleyball medals in Moscow, a silver and a bronze in the men's and women's tournament, respectively . </P> <P> Following the United States - led boycott of the Moscow Olympics, the Soviet Union and some of its allies responded by boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, citing security concerns . The United States won its first medals in volleyball at the Los Angeles Games: a gold in the men's competition, and a silver in the women's . The People's Republic of China won the gold medal in the women's competition in Los Angeles, their first time participating in an Olympic volleyball competition . The United States successfully defended their men's gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and Peru won their only medal in volleyball, a silver in the women's competition . The Soviet Union won a silver medal in the men's competition and a gold in the women's at what would be their final Olympics . Following the 1990--91 breakup of the Soviet Union, 12 of the 15 newly independent countries competed together as the Unified Team in Barcelona . In the women's competition, the Unified Team won the silver medal, and Cuba won their first of three consecutive gold medals . In the men's competition, Brazil won its first gold medal, and the Netherlands its first overall medal in the sport . </P> <P> On 18 September 1993, at the 101st IOC session in Monte Carlo, the Committee voted to add beach volleyball for both men and women to the Olympic programme effective with the 1996 Atlanta Games . A National Olympic Committee is permitted to enter two teams in the beach volleyball tournament; a rule that allowed the United States and Brazil to win both gold and silver in men's and women's beach volleyball respectively that year . Atlanta also saw the Dutch men's indoor team improve their Barcelona silver to a gold . At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the host Australian team won the gold medal in the women's beach volleyball competition, and the Russian Federation took home its first volleyball medals as an independent country with silver in both indoor competitions . At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Spain won its only medal in volleyball, a silver in the men's beach volleyball competition . In women's beach volleyball, the United States team of Misty May (now May - Treanor) and Kerri Walsh (now Walsh Jennings) won the first of three consecutive gold medals, the only team to defend a beach volleyball gold medal . At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the United States men's indoor team won all their matches on the way to their third gold medal win . This equalled the former Soviet Union's record for the most men's championships . The Soviets won twelve medals in the indoor competition, and Brazilian teams have won eleven medals in beach competition; respectively the most in each discipline . The Brazilian teams, however, with nine indoor medals lead all nations with a total of twenty medals in volleyball events at the Olympics . </P>

When did the us win its first gold medal in volleyball