Canada earns moral victory despite loss to powerhouse Brazil at Volleyball Nations League
Canadians push undefeated South Americans through 4 grueling sets
Brazil defeated the Canadian men's volleyball team 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 27-25) in Nations League action Sunday.
The Canadians were coming off their first win of the competition - a straight-sets decision Saturday over Argentina - after dropping their opening contest to the United States.
If there was a moral victory for Canada, Brazil came into Sunday's contest having not dropped a set in the tournament after sweeping both the U.S. and Argentina.
Canada's Sharone Vernon-Evans from Scarborough, Ont., led all scorers with 24 points.
WATCH | Canada pushes powerhouse Brazil in hard-fought match:
"In the first two sets, it was very difficult because Brazil were serving very well and they are a team that doesn't make many mistakes, so it's really hard to play against them. If you make mistakes you are going to lose," said Canada's Nicholas Hoag, a native of Sherbrooke, Que., following the match. "After the second set we really played well. In the end, the small details made the difference."
Canada's national men's and women's teams will both play a 15-match preliminary round until June 23. The top four countries in each division will advance to the semifinals and finals.
The Canadian women face Turkey on Monday.
With files from Volleyball Canada
