Brazil figures prominently in the immediate and long-range goals for the U.S. women’s volleyball team.

In the wide view, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio represent the ultimate target, where the host team will enter as the two-time defending gold medalist.

At the moment, the U.S. is focused on two matches with top-ranked Brazil at the Stan Sheriff Center as the world’s top two teams converge in what U.S. coach Karch Kiraly calls "one of the true volleyball epicenters of the country" for the second half of the USA Volleyball Cup.

The U.S. claimed the first two meetings in the series in Southern California last weekend. The scene shifts to Honolulu for rematches Friday and Saturday.

"The road to gold leads through Brazil, literally and figuratively," Kiraly said. "So we’d like to play them a lot, we like to play good teams and see where we stand and see how our progress is coming being about two years out (from the Olympics)."

The U.S. won the opener in four sets last Saturday then swept the Brazilians on Sunday before the teams made the trip to Honolulu on Wednesday.

"We’re expecting them to come back harder," Kiraly said. "I don’t think they were that happy with losing 3-1 and 3-0. I’m expecting they’re going to come out hard, we’re going to play hard and it’ll be a great battle."

While Rio beckons in the distance, the FIVB World Championship in Italy in September highlights the 2014 schedule as the teams reach the midpoint of the Olympic cycle.

Kiraly said the USA Volleyball Cup matches are valuable for "getting experience to younger players, testing our systems, seeing if our tactical systems are working the way we want them to work."

The objectives are similar for Brazil’s Jose Roberto Lages Guimaraes, the only coach to lead both men’s and women’s teams to Olympic gold.

» Who: Brazil vs. United States » When/where: 7 p.m., Friday-Saturday at Stan Sheriff Center » Tickets: $10-$150, available at Sheriff Center box office, etickethawaii.com, usavolleyballcup.com

"It’s very important to us especially because the United States is a very good team that doesn’t commit a lot of mistakes," said the coach known commonly as Ze Roberto.

The Brazilian coach noted that the U.S. is ahead in its preparation, due in part to Brazil having "more than half our squad" playing in the FIVB Women’s Club World Championship in May.

"So our preparation started really late this year," he said.

Brazil reached the top of the medal stand in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, beating the U.S. in the final both times.

Eight Olympians made the trip to Hawaii, including two-time gold medalists in 6-foot-5 middle blocker Thaisa Menezes, 6-4 Fabiana Claudino, outside hitter Jaqueline Pereira de Carvalho Endres and opposite Sheilla Castro.

"The thing that makes Brazil so good is they play a system of smart volleyball, low errors, high percentage," said Kiraly, who took over as U.S head coach after the London Games. "It’s not the riskiest system, but it is a system they run really well."

In contrast, Kiraly said the U.S. system "is built on a little more speed and forcing the tempo."

"As we get better at it, it turns into a lower risk system. But when you force the tempo it tends to be a little higher error (rate). But we think it has a greater upside to have this kind of system.

"All the stuff we try initially, it doesn’t always look pretty …but we stick with it and we believe we have some really good concepts that over the course of time will earn us an advantage."

The U.S. has four past Olympians on its active roster in setter Courtney Thompson (Washington), libero Nicole Davis (USC), outside hitter Jordan Larson-Burbach (Nebraska), and middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo (Stanford).

Larson-Burbach led the team with 16 points in the opening win last Saturday at UC Irvine as the U.S. built a 10-1 ace advantage. Kiraly changed five of his seven starters the following night at USC and the team responded with a sweep.

The losses were part of a rough week for Brazil’s national teams as the World Cup’s host nation suffered through a 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals on Tuesday.

"It’s a pity what happened, but for us we’re focused on our sport and our preparation," Ze Roberto said.