Aug. 24, 2021: Puerto Rico earned its first NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship title over Canada 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-23) after winning the gold-medal match at the Auditorio del Pueblo in Durango, Mexico, on Monday night.
This was Puerto Rico’s first NORCECA championship gold and they finished with a 4-1 win-loss record. The Canadian squad ended with a 3-3 record. Both top-two teams were awarded berths in the 2022 World Championships. Mexico won bronze over Cuba earlier in the evening.
Opposite hitter Gabriel García led Puerto Rico to gold with 11 points on 10 kills and one ace, outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas registered 10 points and middle blocker Jonathan Rodríguez collected 9 points.
Canada’s top scorers last night were Brandon Koppers (who was also acknowledged with an award as one of the top outside hitters of the tournament) with 14 points on 12 kills and 2 blocks, and opposite hitter Xander Ketrzynski added 11 points.
The women’s event gets underway this week in Guadalajara, Mexico, with Canada facing the U.S. on Aug. 27.
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