France dominates Canada in World League volleyball
Canadian men's team falls to 4-4 in preliminary round
The Canadian men's volleyball team fell in straight sets to France on Saturday in Antwerp, Belgium, in the third weekend of FIVB World League Group 1 play.
France, which has won four of the five meetings all-time against Canada in World League, took the match 25-16, 25-15, 25-21.
Up-and-coming French phenom Stephen Boyer contributed 25 points to help his team overwhelm the Canadians. Stephen Maar was the leading scorer for Canada with 12 points.
"Today we were completely dominated by the French side. Yet, we're still on track for a place in the final six, said Canada's coach Stephane Antiga."
Canada is now 4-4 in the preliminary round, including three tie-break wins.
On Friday, Canada held on to beat Belgium in five sets, while France suffered its first loss of the 2017 season, dropping a tiebreak to Italy.
France (7-1) has already qualified for the "final six," while Canada's fate is unclear until other matches play out over the weekend.
That Italian side is up next for Canada on Sunday at 6:50 a.m. ET, which you can watch live on CBCSports.ca.
Canada's men's team readies for its World League Group 1 debut : <a href="https://t.co/BUsIrCFh0u">https://t.co/BUsIrCFh0u</a> <a href="https://t.co/Cf1qsSCHSF">pic.twitter.com/Cf1qsSCHSF</a>
—@VBallCanadaThe FIVB World League is the premier annual men's volleyball tournament with a total of 36 participating teams.
The 36 teams have been split into three groups of 12 teams and will play the preliminary round in a pool format over three weeks, before the best teams gather for the finals in each group.
Due to their strong play last season, Canada has been promoted to the top tier in this year's event, known as Group 1.