KATOWICE, Poland — The Canadian men’s volleyball team was eliminated from the FIVB World Championships after falling to Germany in straight sets on Sunday.
Germany advanced to the next stage of the tournament with a 28-26, 25-22, 25-23 victory.
Canada won six of its nine contests at the Worlds, losing to higher ranked Russia (2), Brazil (1) and Germany (10). Canada, which needed to beat Germany 3-0 or 3-1 to finish third in its pool and advance, is currently ranked 15th in the world.
"I think our team gained a lot of confidence from this tournament and the future is bright for us," said Canada’s team captain, Fred Winters of Victoria. "Obviously, we didn’t show that we are quite there yet — losing to Russia, Brazil and Germany — but we beat some good teams and we showed a pretty high level.
"Right now, however, it’s difficult to be proud of any accomplishments."
Germany needed just one point to qualify for the third round, which it got after taking the second set.
Canada fought hard in the third set, despite having already been eliminated, taking a 16-12 lead at the second technical timeout. But Germany caught up at 18-18 and used their momentum from the first two sets to finish the game.
Gyorgy Grozer led Germany with 18 points, while Gavin Schmitt of Saskatoon was Canada’s leading scorer with 10 points. Germany made 23 errors, while Canada made 19.
"We lost our focus and made some technical mistakes," said Canada’s coach Glenn Hoag. "At this level there is no going back … It’s a learning process for us. We need to close a set and put pressure (on the opposing team). And with an experienced team like this, and its experienced players, it became too much for us."
Brazil won Pool F to advance along with Russia and Germany. France, Poland and Iran also moved forward from Pool E. Canada and the U.S. both finished fourth in their pools.
"The team has gotten better and has grown quite a bit," said Hoag. "There are some matches where we executed really well. Tonight it was like we were in over-ride — we were trying to do too much — and then you start losing easy plays.
"But overall the growth is there and it’s obvious, and it’s a good way to test the team. We had pressure the whole tournament and it was good to see how everyone reacted."