Behind 13 points from Gord Perrin, Canada wrapped up their storybook FIVB Volleyball World League campaign with a bronze medal after coming from behind for a 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-21) win over the United States on Saturday evening in Curitiba, Brazil.
#USAvsCAN (25-18, 20-25, 22- 25, 21-25) #FIVBworldleague What he said!! FINAL pic.twitter.com/8jn6mZYhNu
The Canadian captain Perrin led a balanced attack as Sharone Vernon-Evans and Graham Vigrass had 12 points apiece while Ryley Barnes added 10 points off the bench.
“I’m just really proud right now of everyone in the program, and happy for everyone in the past that’s helped the program. It’s been the last four or five years, every year we achieve something new – we go to somewhere we haven’t been. I’m excited to see where we can go from here; I hope we can continue to grow,” said Perrin.
Match point!! History made. Bronze for Canada 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/l6VdUfajPF
Leading the way for the U.S. were Taylor Sander and David Smith with 14 points each, followed by 12 from both Thomas Jaeschke and Benjamin Patch.
Canada was already playing with house money having advanced to their first-ever semifinal in World League play. But that didn’t diminish the Canucks’ motivation to continue improving on their 13th place finish from last year.
Middle-blocker Smith set the tone for the American squad, with 6 points in the opening set win.
“We didn’t start well.. we made a lot a mistakes.. we really weren’t ready,” said Canadian head coach, Stephane Antiga.
Canada responded from a slow start to win the second set with tremendous defence.
Canada’s strong play carried into the third set as they took a 2-1 lead with Perrin, Vernon-Evans and Barnes setting a fast pace.
In the fourth set, the Canadians showed no nerves capitalizing on the mistakes of their opponents to win a tight final frame.
“I really appreciated the direction of my players and then everyone participated in this victory – everybody played! This is amazing for Canada .. and nice promotion for our sport in Canada ..Now we have even more motivation to work harder. Our goal is to be better and better as a team but also develop players… When you’ve tasted this [winning a medal] you want to repeat it,” said Antiga.
