Volleyball Canada – NINGBO, China. Aug. 11, 2019:  Canada defeated Finland 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-20) to close its FIVB Tokyo Olympic Qualification Tournament on a high note in China.  

Canada’s top scorers today were Stephen Maar and Jason DeRocco with 14 apiece and Sharone Vernon-Evans with 12.

“I was happy we played a good game against Finland today. We showed good character and heart in the match, especially after last night knowing that we were not going to qualify (for the Tokyo Olympics),” said Canada’s team captain, Gord Perrin. “But now our summer continues, and we have to focus on the next goal.”

Though not the tournament winner, Canada comes away with two wins (today and yesterday over China in five sets) and a loss (to Argentina) from this weekend. The winner of this weekend is being decided in today’s match between Argentina and China, as both teams also beat Finland.

The loss and going to five sets with China effectively excluded Canada from winning the tournament. 

“I’m pleased that the team was able to remain focused and compete, although after Argentina it was quite difficult. And now we need to turn our attention to our next qualifier,” said Canada’s head coach Glenn Hoag.

Next stop in the Olympic qualification process for Canada is the NORCECA Championships in Winnipeg in early September to attempt to advance to the zonal qualifier in January 2020
 
The FIVB Tokyo Qualification men’s tournaments are all wrapping up today; see
http://volleyball.ioqt.2019.fivb.com/en for latest results:

• Pool A (in Varna): Brazil, Egypt, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico.
• Pool B (in Rotterdam): USA, Belgium, The Netherlands, Korea.
• Pool C (in Bari): Italy, Serbia, Australia, Cameroon.
• Pool D (in Gdansk): Poland, France, Slovenia, Tunisia.
• Pool E (in Saint Petersburg): Russia, Iran, Cuba, Mexico.
• Pool F (in Ningbo): Canada, Argentina, Finland, China.

Check out the 2020 qualification process at www.fivb.com

Roster: 
 
#1 TJ Sanders, London, ON 
#2 Gordon Perrin, Creston, BC (captain)
#3 Steven Marshall, Abbotsford, BC
#4 Nicholas Hoag, Sherbrooke, QC 
#7 Stephen Maar, Aurora, ON
#9 Jason DeRocco, Winnipeg, MB
#10 Sharone Vernon-Evans, Scarborough, ON
#11 Daniel Jansen Vandoorn, Langley, BC 
#12 Lucas Van Berkel, Edmonton, AB
#16 Ryan Sclater, Port Coquitlam, BC
#17 Graham Vigrass, Calgary, AB
#19 Blair Bann, Edmonton, AB
#21 Brett Walsh, Calgary, AB
#24 Adam Schriemer, Winnipeg, MB
 
Staff:
Glenn Hoag, Head coach
Dan Lewis, Assistant coach
Gino Brousseau, Assistant coach
Georges Laplante, Team manager
Lionel Bonnaure, Statistician
Michael Cook, Strength coach
Kyle Paquette, Mental performance coach
Tracy Blake, Athletic therapist
Julien Boucher, High performance director

Web site:
http://volleyball.ioqt.2019.fivb.com/en
  
Photo: FIVB

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