By Canadian Press

Canada’s men’s volleyball team tops the Netherlands 3-2 to close out VNL prelims

Jun 22, 2024 | 10:44 AM

MANILA — The Canadian men’s volleyball team continued its roll with a win in its preliminary-round finale Saturday, guaranteeing itself a spot in the Volleyball Nations League quarterfinals.

Stephen Maar had a team-high 18 points as Canada topped the Netherlands 3-2 for its fourth straight victory.

The ninth-ranked Canadians posted set scores of 21-25, 25-22, 28-26,14-25,15-9. Canada improved to 8-4 with the quarterfinals set to begin June 27 in Lodz, Poland.

“It was just a wonderful week,” Canada coach Tuomas Sammelvuo said of his team’s record in the third week of preliminary play. “I’m very happy that this week in the Philippines ended this way by winning a very difficult game, and when we were in trouble we had to find solutions.

“You need to struggle and find solutions during these matches. Every opponent is so tough.”

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Despite the loss, the Netherlands led in attack points (57-55), blocking (14-11) and ace serves (9-7), including six aces from opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz, who had 37 total points.

“We were in trouble with our attacking today, which has been our strength, and Netherlands really gave us trouble …. The guys who entered the game did a good job,” Sammelvuo said.

Canada had already qualified for this summer’s Olympics by finishing second in its pool at a qualification tournament last year.

The men’s Olympic volleyball tournament runs from July 27 to Aug. 10 at the South Paris Arena. Canada advanced to the quarterfinals at the last two Games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press