PARIS >> This was an epic volleyball battle.

It was a match that had it all — booming serves, powerful hits, timely blocks and all kinds of momentum changes, with one team being able to pull away from the other except for the third set.

And it was played in a raucous atmosphere with the highest stakes the sport can offer — the chance to play for an Olympic gold medal.

Unfortunately, for two of Hawaii’s greatest volleyball players of all time — national team captain and setter Micah Christenson, and libero Erik Shoji — that meant nothing to them.

Moments after suffering an agonizing 25-23, 25-27, 14-25, 25-23, 15-13 defeat to world No. 1 Poland, the two arrived from the court to the nearby mixed zone to meet with the media, they shared a long embrace, feeling each other’s pain emanating from such a stinging loss.

“I’m heartbroken right now,” said Christenson, who will have to regroup quickly with his teammates, as they will face Italy on Friday at 4 a.m. for a bronze medal. “I think this game showed how slim the margins are in men’s international volleyball. Honestly, it’s just a couple of bounces here and there that go certain ways and maybe one too many went their way tonight, and we’re just heartbroken from it.”

Also fighting the emotions, Shoji said “that’s USA versus Poland, so we were in for an epic match, it’s just really tough how it ended.”

For Poland it will be its first time in an Olympic final since winning gold against the Soviet Union in the 1976 Montreal Games. The U.S. last won gold in 2008, to go with titles in 1984 and 1988.

The defeat left the U.S. playing bronze as it did in Rio in 2016.

Shoji admitted that it’s not going to be easy to play for the bronze.

“I mean, it’s physically and mentally exhausting,” said the Punahou alumnus, referring to the match that lasted two hours and 11 minutes. “Now, we have to come back in two days and play. We want to be fighting for a gold and that sucks. But bronze is important, so we’re going to do everything we can to win that one.”

Added Kamehameha graduate Christenson: “We’re going to do our best, that’s for sure.”

Micah Ma’a, a 27-year-old Punahou alum from Kaneohe, is an Olympic rookie — unlike Christenson and Shoji, who are in the third Games apiece and already have a bronze medal from 2016 in Rio.

Ma’a watched the game from the bench, with the exception of a chance to serve twice. He said the high-quality volleyball he witnessed is something he will never forget.

“There’s no doubt that that’s a super special night, super special game. I’m definitely grateful to be here and be part of it.”

When asked what may have accounted for the thinnest of margins that separated the two teams, he said “some of their guys got going a little bit” at a critical juncture in the game, when Poland was down by as many as four points (7-3) early in the fourth set, when the U.S. was starting to feel victory was within their grasp.

In fact, after erasing that deficit to get it to 13-13, Poland again had to rally from 20-18 down, and needed two set points to finally get over the hump and force the tiebreak set.

“They brought in a new setter, changed their offense a little bit, and their big guys went back and bombed some balls and kept us out of system,” said Ma’a.

That thought was echoed by Team USA head coach John Speraw.

“I’ll have to go back and take a look at that fourth set. When a team is down two sets to one, they have nothing to lose at that point, so they get very aggressive, and they got very aggressive with their serves, and they were successful. And when you have servers like they have, that starts to be real successful,” said Speraw, who coached Ma’a at UCLA.

“It’s very, very challenging. But I thought we showed a lot of poise in the fifth set, because we didn’t have the momentum going into it,” he said, inferring as well that the loudly pro-Poland crowd made it feel like an away game for the team, as there were constant chants of “Polska!” and horns being blown throughout the stadium. “We still gave ourselves an opportunity (to win).”

USA opposite Matt Anderson led all players with 23 kills and added an ace to finish with 24 points. He hit at a .459 efficiency percentage, per usavolleyball.org. Outside hitter Aaron Russell also reached the 20-point mark with 18 kills and two blocks, hitting .517 for the match. Anderson added eight digs and eight receptions while Russell led the team with 19 successful receptions and added six digs.

Team USA trailed 14-10 in the fifth set with Anderson at the service line. U.S. got to 14-13 before high-flying and hard-hitting 6-foot-7 Wilfredo Leon got a kill off the double block.

Shoji recorded a double-double with 13 successful receptions and a team-leading 10 digs. Christenson had a game-high 60 assists while directing the offense and added seven digs.

Team USA middle blocker Max Holt contributed 12 points on nine kills with a .750 hitting efficiency percentage without an error in 12 attacks. He also recorded a block, two aces, and four kills. Outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke came off the bench to score 10 points on nine kills and a block. Middle blocker Taylor Averill, a University of Hawaii star, finished with eight points on five kills in seven attacks, two blocks and an ace.

Leon led all player with 26 points on 22 kills, two blocks and two huge aces.