July 06, 2023: Canada’s men’s team added a hard-fought VNL point to help avoid relegation after a five-set match today at Volleyball Nations League in Pasay City, Philippines.
Although off to a shaky start, Canada battled back against the Italians to force the tie-break. Italy, however, took an early lead in the final set and managed the win 2-3 (14-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 9-15).
“Italy was very strong in the first set,” said head coach Tuomas Sammelvuo. “We were fighting well after the first set and started to defend a lot of balls.
“It was an important point. Even though we lost the game, we saw that we can play well and we have more confidence. We have to play better of course; we have to watch our sideout attack and analyze that, but we are working on improving day by day.”
Ryan Sclater led all scorers with 22 points (16 attacks, 5 blocks and an ace), while teammates Stephen Maar (18) and Nick Hoag (14) also reached double digits. Overall, Italy led int attack (65-56), blocks (12-9), service (8-6) points and gave up 4 fewer points from errors.
Tomorrow is a day off for team Canada, followed by two crucial matches – against Poland and China. Poland is looking to make the quarterfinals, while China has a similar record to Canada, also with two matches yet to play.
Full schedule is here:
https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/vnl-2023/schedule/
Standings: https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/vnl-2023/standings/men/
Matches are streamed online at www.cbcsports.ca
Canada’s week 3 men’s roster:
1 – Pearson Eshenko, Banff, AB
2 – Luke Herr, Winnipeg, MB
4 – Nicholas Hoag, Sherbrooke, QC
5 – Brodie Hofer, Langley, BC
6 – Danny Demyanenko, Toronto, ON
7 – Stephen Maar, Aurora, ON
8 – Brett Walsh, Calgary, AB
10 – Ryan Sclater, Port Coquitlam, BC
12 – Lucas Van Berkel, Edmonton, AB
13 – Samuel Cooper, Hamilton, ON
14 – Arthur Szwarc. Toronto, ON
18 – Justin Lui, Pickering, ON
97 – Landon Currie, Vernon, BC
99 – Mathias Elser, Calgary, AB
Results week 3:
CAN – NED 1-3 (22-25, 22-25, 25-17, 18-25)
ITA – CAN 2-3 (14-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 9-15).
Results week 2:
JPN – CAN 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 24-26, 25-14)
SLO – CAN 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-14)
CAN – BUL 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-20)
CAN – FRA 0-3 (17-25, 21-25, 21-25)
Results week 1
CAN – CUB 3-2 (25-21, 26-28, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13)
CAN – ARG 1-3 (21-25, 25-21, 21-25,16-25)
CAN – USA 0-3 (22-25, 20-25, 20-25)
CAN – GER 1-3 (25-20, 17-25, 21-25, 21-25)
Photo: VolleyballWorld
Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676