Canada upsets United States in men’s volleyball opener at Rio Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO—Canada waited 24 long years to make its return to the Olympic men’s volleyball court.

On Sunday, the team showed it belonged on the sport’s biggest stage.

Canada surprised the fifth-ranked United States in straight sets (25-23, 25-17, 25-23) in a rollicking affair that packed plenty of punch for a preliminary round opener at the Rio Olympics.

The near-sellout crowd at the Maracanazinho in volleyball-mad Brazil was in Canada’s corner from the start. With spikers Nick Hoag and Gavin Schmitt setting the tone, the 12th-ranked Canadians played like Olympic veterans.

“We’re not intimidated by anybody,” Schmitt said. “We’re going to go at everybody. We’re here to compete.”

There was no sign of nerves at the outset. The Canadians kept it cool in the pre-game introductions while the exuberant Americans slapped each other with high-fives and gave each other bearhugs.

Canada jumped out to an 11-9 lead before the game’s first decent rally captivated the raucous crowd at the 11,454-seat venue. American Taylor Sander ended it with a spike that deflected off the Canadian blockers.

Hoag, from Sherbrooke, Que., later hit two straight thundering spikes to give Canada a 23-21 advantage and Schmitt, from Saskatoon, provided one of his own on set ball.

The Americans made 10 service faults in the opening set and fell apart late in the second. Canada closed out the set on a 10-2 run as Hoag sealed it with an ace.

Schmitt was a force all game and came through again when it counted in the third set. His spike at 23-23 gave Canada a match ball and he followed it with another point to complete the 3-0 win.

“You never expect a victory quite like that,” Schmitt said. “But we know that we can play very well and if we focused on our own game, really took it to them and played aggressive then we had a good chance of beating them.”

Hoag led the team with 14 points, one more than Schmitt. Matthew Anderson led the Americans with 15 points.

The United States made 28 errors to just 16 for Canada.

“We weren’t surprised at all . . . we just weren’t good enough on our side,” said Sander.

Schmitt missed a qualifying tournament in January after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his leg. He returned to help Canada earn a spot in a qualifier in June at Tokyo.

“The day after Japan I talked to the guys and I said, ‘We don’t want to go (to Rio) as tourists,’ ” said Canadian coach Glenn Hoag. “We want to go there and perform. Win or lose I don’t know, but we want to perform.

“The guys got engaged . . . there was something there and we were able to re-create it here.”

Canada’s last Olympic appearance came at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.

“I think a big thing is we have a lot of guys in very high-level professional leagues,” said Canadian setter Tyler Sanders of London, Ont. “So right now we’re getting competition in those eight months and then when we come back, it’s been a very core group.

“We’ve been able to continue to grow together.”

A huge test awaits Tuesday (9:35 p.m. ET) as Canada will take on top-ranked Brazil. The rest of Pool A includes No. 4 Italy, No. 11 France and No. 26 Mexico.

“I think we’re capable of great things,” Schmitt said. “It’s just whether we can keep putting it together and keep performing well. We all have the pieces in the right place right now.”

Other countries in the field include No. 2 Poland, No. 3 Russia, No. 6 Argentina, No 10 Iran, No. 17 Cuba and No. 20 Egypt.

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Source:https://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/2016/08/07/canada-upsets-united-states-in-mens-volleyball-opener-at-rio-olympics.html