Unbeaten Canada bumps off Puerto Rico in men’s continental volleyball championship
MONCTON - The unbeaten Canadian men's volleyball team continues to perform well at the NORCECA men's continental volleyball championship. On Saturday, they defeated Puerto Rico 25-19, 25-17, and 25-17 in the group stage. This victory improved Canada's record to 2-0.
Canada's strong performance in attacks (43-28), blocks (12-4), and aces (5-3) contributed to their win. The hosts also had the top four individual scorers, with Eric Loeppky and Sharone Vernon-Evans leading the charge. Stephen Maar and Jackson Howe combined for 12 points each. Pedro Molina was Puerto Rico's top scorer with 10 points.
Canada's coach, Dan Lewis, acknowledged the challenge of playing against a historically strong team like Puerto Rico. However, he emphasized that Canada's focus was to secure a positive group stage result to set themselves up for the later stages of the tournament.
The nine-day tournament continues on Sunday, with Puerto Rico facing Curaçao (0-2) and Canada playing against Mexico (2-0). Canada's libero, Landon Currie, expressed confidence in their team, noting that they must take advantage of the home crowd to secure their place among the three berths to the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup in Poland. The competition also determines the teams advancing to NORCECA's final qualification stage for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
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