Canada wraps up challenging weekend in men's Volleyball Nations League
Canadian side goes winless in Iran
Poland defeated Canada 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-20, 28-26) in the final volleyball Nations League match of the weekend in Iran.
"We started our match poorly and we were lacking in focus — against a team like Poland it is very hard to play that way," said Glenn Hoag, Canada's head coach.
"In the second set, we got our focus back on playing a point at a time, and we had better execution. ... We have a lot of work to do in all aspects of our game, but we have good moments and that's what we have to focus on as we head to the U.S. for the next weekend of VNL."
Canadian opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans' match high 31 points wasn't enough against Poland's team effort led by Dawid Konarski (21 points) and Aleksander Sliwka (20 points).
WATCH | Canada vs. Poland:
Poland was also able to capitalize on Canada's errors, and pick up their first win of the weekend after losing to Russia in four sets, and falling to host Iran in five on Saturday.
"Overall, I think we've had better games," the 20-year-old Vernon-Evans said after today's match.
"We went up against great teams this weekend and just didn't play our best, which is something we can't afford at this stage. I think we have a lot of room for growth and we've just got to come harder for the next competition."
Vernon-Evans scored 28 points on attack, had two blocks and served one ace against Poland, and is the only player in the tournament on a losing side to have scored 30-plus points in a single match so far.
Canada comes away from Iran with no wins this weekend in a tough pool that included Iran, 2018 VNL champs Russia and reigning World Champions, Poland.
Next week Canada will face China, host U.S. and Japan in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.