U.S. wins gold over Canada at NORCECA men's Final 6 volleyball tournament in Edmonton
American team caps dominant tournament with 3-0 sweep over hosts
Canada was defeated by the United States in the gold-medal game at the NORCECA Final Six men's volleyball tournament in Edmonton on Sunday, capping a perfect tournament for the Americans in which they went 6-0, dominating their opponents 18-1 in total sets won.
In a rematch of of Friday's 3-1 U.S. victory — where Canada handed the U.S. its only lost set — six-foot-10 Patrick Gasman dominated defensively with seven blocks and Ethan Champlin excelled offensively with 12 attacks to help lead the Americans to a decisive 3-0 victory (25-21, 25-14, 25-16).
"I think we played a really complete tournament," U.S. head coach Andy Read told NORCECA. "Our goal was to be better every day and we did that. The standard was, 'let's be the best we can be.' I am super proud of our guys…. It was a great tournament. Thanks to the organizers and volunteers."
WATCH | U.S. takes gold over Canada:
The defeat marks the third straight silver medal for Canada in the event's three-year history, finishing second to Mexico in 2021 and falling in the gold-medal game to Cuba in 2022 before taking home silver in front of the Canadian crowd at the Expo Centre on Sunday.
"I go to school at the University of Alberta, so seeing friends and family in the crowd, it means a lot to us," Canadian team captain Isaac Heslinga told NORCECA. "The whole atmosphere brings such life to the game and it makes it more fun for us. .. Each game we improved bit by bit. Overall, it was a good experience and we really wanted to play the U.S. again [after the round robin]. It was lot of fun to test ourselves against them".
After a choppy start to the game where both teams combined for three service errors, the two North American rivals couldn't gain much separation on one another, locked in stride for the majority of the first set.
Christopher Byam of Bow Island, Alta., led the way for Canada early, recording five of Canada's points to knot the game at 13, but Gasman responded defensively shortly after with two of his game-high four blocks to give the Americans two straight points at 16-14, then connected on an ace to cap a 5-0 U.S. run to make it 21-17. The U.S. closed the first set out 25-21.
It was then once again Gasman who recorded three blocks on a 7-1 U.S. run to give the Americans a commanding 21-11 lead, with the U.S. cruising to a 25-14 win shortly after.
The American captain's defence was the story of the first meeting between the two squads, leading the way with eight of the U.S.'s 18 blocks Friday night, and he was the main reason for a 13-1 American advantage in that statistic in the gold-medal match. The Clovis, Calif., native was named the top blocker and MVP of the tournament.
"We have a lot of experience on our team [and that] helped us out," Gasman told NORCECA. "It came down to effort and energy and we played within our system and got the job done. It was a good tournament for us. We wanted to build upon every game, and I think we showed that."
WATCH | Canada defeated by U.S. in round-robin play:
The good news for Canada heading into the third set was that leading scorer Heslinga of Orangeville, Ont., got on the board with a team-high five points after recording zero in the first set.
Camden Gianni's ace capped the game off, one of his 13 points in the match, which tied Gasman for second in the game. Champlin led all players with 16.
Heslinga led all Canadian scorers with four points in the final set, and tied Byam for the most on the team in the match at nine. The Canadian duo also led all Canadian scorers in the tournament, with Heslinga contributing 83 points and Byam securing 71.
WATCH | Full gold-medal match:
New-look Canadian roster
Canada's roster is comprised of Volleyball Canada NextGen Program players and athletes that played on Canada's 11th-place team at the under-21 world championship in Bahrain in July.
Canada went unbeaten in its first three matches in the tournament, earning 3-1 wins over Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba before falling to the Americans and 3-2 to Mexico to enter the final on a two-game losing streak.
Mexico added to its medal haul at the event by defeating defending champion Cuba 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-18) in the bronze-medal game earlier in the day, while Puerto Rico posted a comeback victory over the Dominican Republic in the fifth-place game 3-2 (19-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-17, 16-14).
Canada roster
- Christopher Byam — Bow Island, Alta.
- Jonah Dueck — Rosenort, Man.
- Reeve Gingera — Calgary
- Mason Greves — Calgary
- Isaac Heslinga — Orangeville, Ont.
- Zachary Hollands — Victoriaville, Que.
- Liam Kristjanson — Oak River, Man.
- Isaiah Mamer — Wilkie, Sask.
- Darian Picklyk — Winnipeg
- Jonathan Portelance — Sherbrooke, Que.
- Jacob Sargent — Lethbridge, Alta.
- Kaden Schmidt — Mississauga, Ont.
- Cory Schoenherr — Waterloo, Ont.
- James Vincett — Calgary
With files from NORCECA
