Volleyball Canada  – June 25, 2016 : A crowd of 2,436 in Saskatoon for FIVB Volleyball World League 2016 witnessed Canada beat China 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-17).  The lineup included hometown hero Gavin Schmitt, who didn’t disappoint the fans. 
 
“The tournament so far is going well, result wise anyway. We’re trying different guys because we have to make a selection at the end of World League for the Olympics,” explained Canada’s coach Glenn Hoag. “It was Gavin’s first match since Japan, and he’s a little rusty but he picked up his game and really helped us win this one.”

The first set saw Canada showing their poise in their second match up against China in World League pool play. Smart attacking and powerful serves from Canadians Gavin Schmitt and Gordon Perrin gave Canada leads of 8-5 and 16-14 at the technical time outs. Unforced errors by the Chinese and a big block took Canada to victory in the set, winning 25-21.

Set number two showed the Canadian team extending their winning ways as they continued to ride the strong play of their wing spikers. Leading the way, 8-4 and 16-12 at the technical time outs, the home team won set two with a little more urgency than that of the first, prevailing 25-19.

Canada continued to ride the energy of the crowd and jumped out to an 8-5 lead at the first technical time out of the third set. The Chinese squad could not find their composure or get on track as the Canadian team expanded their lead to 16-10 at the second technical time out and never looked back. Gavin Schmitt scored the last two points of the set and the match and Canada won their 5th World League match, 25-17, to move to 5-0 in pool play. 

Top scorers of the match were Dai Qingyao with 11 points and Chen Longhai with 7 in China’s losing effort; John Gordon Perrin and Gavin Schmitt scoring 13 points each in Canada’s victory.

“I thought we played well today, it was a really clean game,” said Perrin. “We started off making errors but then we controlled it after that and were able to win 3-0.”

Canada plays Portugal tomorrow to wrap up its World League hosting weekend. 

Tickets for all matches held at the SaskTel are available through www.ticketmaster.ca  For those who have tickets, be sure to download the VOGO app for an enhanced fan experience!

June 24, 2016
5.35pm – China vs. Portugal 3-1
8:05pm – Canada vs. Korea 3-0

June 25, 2016
1:30pm – Canada vs. China 3-0
4:00pm – Korea vs. Portugal

June 26, 2016
3:35pm – Korea vs. China
6:05pm – Canada vs. Portugal

*Revised time due to broadcast schedule. This match will be live on CBC, all other matches on www.cbc.ca online.
 
Canadian Roster for Saskatoon:
#1  TJ Sanders, London, ON
#2  Gordon Perrin, Creston, BC
#3  Dan Lewis, Oakville, ON
#4  Nicholas Hoag, Sherbrooke, QC|
#5  Rudy Verhoeff, Calgary, AB
#6  Justin Duff, Winnipeg, MB
#8  Adam Simac, Ottawa, ON
#10 Toon Van Lankvelt, Rivers, MB
#11 Daniel Jansen Van Doorn, Langley, BC
#12 Gavin Schmitt, Saskatoon, SK 
#15 Fred Winters, Victoria, BC
#19 Blair Bann, Edmonton, AB
#21 Jay Blankenau, Sherwood Park, AB
#22 Steven Marshall, Abbotsford, BC
 
Staff:
Julien Boucher – Team Manager
Glenn Hoag – Head Coach
Larry McKay – Asst. Coach 
Vincent Pichette – Asst. Coach 
Murat Haktanir – Statistician 
Jean-Sebastien Hartell – Therapist 

Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender
E-mail: jskender@volleyball.ca
Phone: 613.794.7676