Undefeated Team Canada lands in Saskatoon for World League action
Coming off three wins, Volleyball Canada’s men’s team is back home for the second leg of the Intercontinental Round of the 2016 FIVB World League.
After a perfect World League season opening weekend in the Czech Republic, Team Canada leads Group 2 of the competition with just one lost set in three matches. From June 24 to 26, the Canadian squad will host China, Portugal and South Korea at Saskatoon’s Sasktel Centre, seeking to remain undefeated.
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The first Canadian match at home will be on Friday against South Korea, which seeks its first win in World League action. On Saturday, Canada and China will meet again. The Canadian squad defeated the Asian team last weekend in the first leg of the competition and earlier this month at the Olympic qualification tournament. On Sunday, Canada will face Portugal.
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“The team is looking forward to playing at home after being on the road in Japan, for the Olympic Qualifier, and opening World League in the Czech Republic this past weekend,” Canada’s head coach, Glenn Hoag, told VolleyballCanada.ca.
Canada’s roster for this weekend includes TJ Sanders, Gordon Perrin, Dan Lewis, Nicholas Hoag, Rudy Verhoeff, Justin Duff, Adam Simac, Toon Van Lankvelt, Daniel Jansen Van Doorn, Gavin Schmitt, Fred Winters, Blair Bann, Jay Blankenau and Steven Marshall.
Gavin Schmitt will represent Team Canada in his home town this weekend (Photo: FIVB).
The last stop of the Intercontinental Round for the Canadian squad will be in Tampere, Finland from July 1-3. Once the last leg ends, the top three ranked teams will head to Portugal to play in the final round, which could lead to a promotion to Group 1 next season if certain FIVB conditions for eligibility are met.
2016 World League
RELATED: Rio 2016 qualification tracker
As in previous Olympic years, the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World League is a shortened version of the competition to accommodate teams taking part in Rio 2016. The Intercontinental Round sees three different venues hosting matches over each of the three weeks of play.
