Volleyball Canada – Manama, Bahrain, July 23, 2019 – Canada edged out Czech Republic in the tie-break set, winning today 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 28-26, 15-25, 17-15) in Pool G of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship.

It’s the team’s second win in a row.

“We were battling for every single ball and in the end it was just small details that decided the game,” said Canada’s coach Joao Paulo Bravo, after today’s match. “We have two wins but we are still thinking about every game, game by game, and not thinking about our points. We will try to win tomorrow again to be in the best position for sure, so we are not counting on any results yet.”

Canada plays Egypt on Wednesday in this round for classification.

“It was a battle for sure. I think our guys got tired in the fourth set and some guys came off the bench and did a really good job for us,” explained Canada’s team captain, Mathias Elser. “We haven’t had an opportunity yet where we needed a bunch of support from the bench and I think those guys did a really good job.

“We need to continue what we’re doing – play hard and get better every match. We didn’t come in with a lot of international experience, but we just want to get better every day.”

 
Pool G (second round)
July 22: Canada def. Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 19-25, 25-17)

Pool D (preliminary round) results: 
July 20: Poland def. Canada 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 26-24)
July 19: Brazil def. Canada 3-0 (25-25, 25-19, 25-13) 
July 18: Italy def. Canada 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-15) 
 
U21 Worlds website:
http://u21.men.2019.volleyball.fivb.com/en

U21 travelling roster:
Jackson Bere, Toronto, ON
Jordan Canham, Newington, ON
Jesse Elser, Calgary, AB
Mathias Elser, Calgary, AB (captain)
Colm Guyn, Lethbridge, AB
Brodie Hofer, Langley, BC
Xander Ketrzynski, Toronto, ON
Coltyn Liu, Vancouver, BC
Justin Lui, Pickering, ON
Fynnian McCarthy, Lake Country, BC
Matthew Neaves, Calgary, AB
Alexis Tournier, Gatineau, QC

Staff:
Head coach: Joao Paulo Bravo   
Asst. Coach: Adam Simac             
Asst. Coach: Shayne White          
Statistician: Daniel Cuzmar-Grimalt         
Athletic Therapist: Seadon Pereira           
Team Manager: Melanie Desrochers
 
Photo: FIVB

Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676