As the first Japanese to make four Olympic volleyball teams, Saori Kimura is burning to improve on her team's 2012 bronze-medal finish.

The wing spiker, a high school student when she made her Olympic debut in Athens in 2004, turns 30 a day before the Aug. 20 final, and is relishing the chance to lead her team out for the first time at the Olympic Games as captain.

"The feeling is totally different from four years ago. We'll all stick together, aiming for the medal with a better color than we won in London," said Kimura, who dropped 31 points on Italy at the final qualifying tournament in May, when the women secured a 12th Olympic berth, tying them with the United States for the most ever.