Sept. 19, 2023: Canada won its opener at the NORCECA Pan American Cup Men’s Final Six, September 19 to 24 at the Flair Airlines Hangar at the Expo Centre, in Edmonton, Alberta.
It was Canada over Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20) on the first day of the round robin.
Canada led 55-43 in attack points; 11-8 in block points and a whopping 10-0 in service aces. However, Puerto Rico made fewer errors 22, to Canada’s 29.
Canada’s team captain Isaac Heslinga of Orangeville, Ont. led all scorers with 23 points. Klistan Lawrence Vidal led Puerto Rico with 16 points.
Dan Lewis, Canada’s NextGen head coach, commented post-match: “I’m glad we won, but our organization needs to be better. There were a couple of things we needed to do in terms of organization and we weren’t able to execute that well and it opens the door for the opponent. This week we will just try to refine our execution and have discipline. At the international level, we have to be able to execute our plan well.”
Canada plays Dominican Republic on Wednesday at 7 pm local time in the next round-robin match.
The participating teams are Canada, USA, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. All matches will be held at the Flair Airlines Hangar (Hall D) in The Edmonton Expo Centre.
Tickets, with group rates for 20-plus, are available at www.ticketmaster.ca
Team Canada (Final 6)
Christopher Byam, Bow Island, AB
Jonah Dueck, Rosenort, MB
Reeve Gingera, Calgary, AB
Mason Greves, Calgary, AB
Isaac Heslinga, Orangeville, ON
Zachary Hollands, Victoriaville, QC
Liam Kristjanson, Oak River, MB
Isaiah Mamer, Wilkie, SK
Darian Picklyk, Winnipeg, MB
Jonathan Portelance, Sherbrooke, QC
Jacob Sargent, Lethbridge, AB
Kaden Schmidt, Mississauga, ON
Cory Schoenherr, Waterloo, ON
James Vincett, Calgary, AB
Staff:
Dan Lewis, Head Coach
Georges Laplante, Assistant Coach
Yung Yung Wong, Sport Physiotherapist
Viewing Guide:
Canada’s matches: www.cbcsports.ca
All matches: Volleyball Canada’s YouTube Channel
Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676
Photo: NORCECA (Jason Franson)
