TOKYO — Canada’s men’s volleyball team capped the FIVB World Cup with a three-set victory over Tunisia on Wednesday, to finish seventh overall.
Gord Perrin had 14 points, while Nicholas Hoag won game MVP honours with 13 points, in Canada’s 25-19, 25-21, 25-17 victory.
Canada finished the World Cup with five wins and six losses.
The Canadians play in a regional Olympic qualifying tournament next week, and so capping the World Cup with a victory was important.
“We’re very happy with the win, for us it closes this World Cup on a positive note,” said Canada’s head coach Glenn Hoag. “We lacked a bit of preparation — we would have liked to maybe do better against the stronger teams — but that will be for the future. For now, we turn our focus to the NORCECA tournament, which is next week, and that’s an important tournament for us.”
The NORCECA tournament is the first of two Olympic qualifying events. Canada needs a strong showing next week to advance to the final Olympic qualifying tournament.
The United States won its first men’s volleyball World Cup in 30 years with a 25-20, 25-21, 17-25, 25-20 win over Argentina.
Maxwell Holt scored 18 points as the U.S. team secured a berth at the Rio Olympics.
“It’s a stressful challenge for any coach to qualify for the Olympics,” U.S. coach John Speraw said. “I thought our serve was good throughout the tournament and our blocking got better as we went along.”
Italy also wrapped up an Olympic spot by finishing second with a 26-24, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19 win over world champion Poland, which lost its first match and finished third.
— With files from The Associated Press.
The Canadian Press
Stay connected with local news
Make us your
home page
