Canada cruises past Iran for 1st men's volleyball victory in Tokyo

Canada's men's volleyball team picked up an easy 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-22) victory over Iran, keeping its playoff hopes alive with its first win of the Olympics on Wednesday in Tokyo.

Coming into the match, Canada (1-2) had lost two straight to Italy and Japan. Iran (2-1) had not lost yet, having defeated Poland and Venezuela.

Canada's final two matches of the preliminary round will be against winless Venezuela on Friday and Poland on Sunday, with both matchups being key for Canada to securing its spot in the quarter-finals.

The quarter-final bracket will be made up of the top four teams from each pool and begins Aug. 3. Canada currently sits in fourth in Pool A. Japan leads the pool with a 2-0 record, with Iran in second and Poland in third.

WATCH | Canadian men's volleyball team tops Iran for 1st win at Tokyo Games:

Despite Iran entering with momentum, the Canadians maintained control of the match from start to finish, led by Gordon Perrin, of Creston, B.C., and Nicholas Hoag of Sherbrooke, Que., who scored 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Canada outblocked Iran 10 to five and scored 40 spike points on 70 attempts, to Iran's 33 on 79 attempts.

The men's volleyball competition is in the preliminary round stage with 12 countries split into two pools. Pool A consists of Japan, Iran, Canada, Italy, Poland and Venezuela, while Pool B contains Brazil, the U.S., Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), France, Argentina and Tunisia.

Canada's men's team is competing in its second straight Olympic Games following a 24-year absence. The team placed fifth in Rio and has never reached the Olympic podium.

The tournament ends on Aug. 7 with the gold- and bronze-medal matches.