Lausanne, Switzerland, September 27, 2017 – Canada didn’t hang around in their pursuit of a place at the Italy-Bulgaria 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, when they beat St Lucia in their opening match at the NORCECA Continental Qualifiers, on Wednesday.
There were also victories for the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Mexico.
The NORCECA Continental Qualifiers is taking place from September 26-October 1. The top three teams in the 10-team field will earn berths at the 2018 World Championship, while two more teams will come from a second NORCECA qualifier that will be held later in the year.
The USA are hosting the tournament at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado when nine teams will aim to book a place at the World Championship that runs from September 10-30 across Italy and Bulgaria.
Canada showed the form that earned them bronze at the 2017 FIVB World League when they defeated St Lucia 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-8), while captain Gordon Perrin led scoring with 14 points.
Canada will now face Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday in a match which will determine which teams finishes first and progresses to the semifinals.
The Dominican Republic will also be playing off for a place in the semifinals, against the USA. They defeated Guatemala 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-18) thanks largely to captain and outside hitter Wilfrido Hernandez who led the scorers with 21 points.
Costa Rica and Mexico will also meet on Thursday, but they have both already progressed to the quarterfinals after they won their second matches of the competition.
Costa Rica defeated St Vincent and the Grenadines 3-0 (25-10, 25-19, 25-21), while Mexico beat Martinique 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-12).
“Martinique was attacking very well from time to time, and sometimes they were very motivated so they won some points,” Mexico Coach Juan Acuna said. “But our attack and block were very good tonight.”
