Ruse, Bulgaria, September 12, 2018. Canada started the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship with a straight-set win 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-18) over the Netherlands in the second match for today in Pool B.
Stephane Antiga, coach of Canada: "I’m so satisfied with this opening victory against the Netherlands. It is a really important win and the perfect start of the completion for us. The level of the teams here in Ruse is really high and in every single match you must play as well as possible in order to win. We went with great motivation, managed to be focused, and the most important thing is the result in the end – 3-0. Now we are looking forward to our next match against Egypt."
Nicholas Hoag, player of Canada: "I think the big difference in the match was serve and receive. We served really well without any mistakes, put them in trouble and added a hard time running their offense. We also received really well, so starting like this is really important for us. I think winning the second set was the key moment for our victory. Even though we had some difficulties and they were playing better, coming back from a few points behind and winning that set made us a little bit relieved. We are going to have a big preparation for the match tomorrow and of course we hope for another 3-0 win."
Gido Vermeulen, coach the Netherlands: "I think the team of Canada were stronger in the first and the third sets but the second set we played a good game. However, at the end of the day they were the better team today. In the end of the second set we played really well in defense and our substitutes did a really good job to keep us in the game. But then, it is only one ball so you never know. I think we played a decent game. Tomorrow is a rest day for us, so we will prepare for the match against China on Friday."
Nimir Abdel-Aziz, captain of the Netherlands: "Of course we knew that it was going to be a difficult match because Canada is ranked sixth in the FIVB rankings and we are twenty-fifth. We hoped to play a little bit better. They gave us a lot of pressure from the very first point in the opening set, and that was the key in this game. We just could not handle it."