Tag: Canada

Canada sweeps Manila leg but coach wants more

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Stephen Maar and Canada celebrate a point against Netherlands in the VNL.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Canada may have swept four matches in the Manila Leg to book a spot in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Final Eight but it wasn’t perfect for coach Tuomas Sammelvuo as he urges his wards to stay hungry.

Canada turned to Stephen Maar and Eric Loeppky to seal a spot in the Final Eight after overcoming the Netherlands in five sets, 21-25, 25-22, 28-26, 14-25, 15-9, on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.

But coach Sammelvuo said they won’t stop working on their lapses, which were still exploited by the Netherlands, led by the league’s top scorer Nimir Abdel-Aziz.

READ: VNL 2024: As Paris Olympics nears, Canada focused on improvement

“It’s never perfect but of course four wins, huge performance from the players. I’m very happy for them and we qualified for the Final Eight. That’s amazing,” said the Finnish coach of Canada. “I think we got confidence after a few wins and now we finished the end part of VNL with eight wins. That’s very very good. Now we focus on the Final Eight, we’ll keep on practicing and get ready for the quarterfinals.”

Maar powered the Canadians with 18 points off 15 attacks, two blocks, and an ace. Loeppky delivered the goods anew with 14 points, while Xander Ketrzynski and Lucas Van Berkel added nine points each. 

“Fourth game in five days, five-setter, crazy environment, we wanted that win so bad and so did they. They wanted to win for him and we wanted to win for us. It went to be a really tough match mentally and also physically,” said Loeppky. “I think we needed this game. We really needed to be put in a tough situation to be able to come together and win as a team I think that’s huge for us. This one was tough, so it’s really important for us moving forward because all we have left is the Final Eight and the Olympics so all those games are going to be like this.”

READ: VNL 2024: Canada sweeps Germany for back-to-back wins

Sammelvuo was happy for his players’ improvement after finishing the preliminary round as the No.4 seed with an 8-4 record as they will also play in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“We have improved I think we’re qualified in the Olympic games and last October was a big step for us in terms of confidence. After that many players had a very good season in their clubs and we have been working, being humble and trying to improve. We’ll never stop,” said the Canada coach, who is also eyeing to return in Manila for the FIVB World Championship next year. 

“Amazing. Good crowd. Next year, the world championship is here. So I hope we’ll come back here,” he added.

 The Netherlands ended up winless in Manila with a 3-9 record despite another 37-point explosion from Abdel-Aziz highlighted by six aces. Maarten Van Garderen had 17 points.



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VNL 2024: As Paris Olympics nears, Canada focused on improvement

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MANILA, Philippines — Bracing for their upcoming stint in Paris Olympics 2024, Eric Loeppky and Canada have been utilizing their Volleyball Nations League (VNL) stint as a huge preparation while pushing their Final Eight chances. Loeppky led another balanced attack with 21 points off 16 kills, three aces, and two blocks in Canada’s third straight

Canada sweeps Germany for back-to-back wins

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FILE–Canada’s Danny Demyanenko during a VNL  2024 Week 3 game at Mall of Asia Arena. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Canada earned its second straight win in Manila after dominating Germany, 25-19, 25-18, 25-21, to bolster its Final Eight chances in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2024 on Thursday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Buoyed by its five-set win over fan favorite Japan two days ago, Stephen Maar and Arthur Swarc dropped 15 points each to lift Canada to fifth place with a 6-4 record.

“I think we did a good job in serving and passing today. Our team had pretty flawless volleyball,” said Maar after nailing 14 kills. “Germany gave some good fight in the end and I think we handled it really well, so I’m happy for the team.”

VNL 2024 SCHEDULE: Week 3 Manila, Philippines leg

In Maar’s second time in the Philippines, he’s glad that he is now in better shape to play in front of Filipino fans.

“This is my second time in the Philippines. Last year, I was struggling a lot physically with my body. Obviously, it’s a long travel to come here so it’s not so easy sometimes. This year, we were able to be a bit more prepared and I think that’s really helping start off our week, so I’m really happy [and] grateful for all our medical staff who did a really good job,” the Canadian spiker said.

Sward had 11 kills, two blocks, and a pair of aces. Setter Luke Herr paced the Canadians, as Eric Loeppky added 11 points to stave off Germany’s last-ditch effort in the third set.

READ: VNL 2024: Canada denies fan favorite Japan in five sets

Canada eyes its third win in Manila against No.4 Brazil (6-3) on Friday at 3 p.m. The Brazilians still have a game against USA on Thursday evening before their crucial match.

“Brazil is obviously another gifted team, technically. Probably a bit more similar to Japan, they’re quite skilled in passing and blocking,” Maar said. “I think we’re gonna have to watch our game back, see what went well, what didn’t go well, see what we can do better to beat Brazil.”

Germany couldn’t sustain its momentum from a 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 25-23 win over France less than 24 hours ago as it slid to a 4-6 record in 11th place.

György Grozer, who scored 21 points against France, sat out. Moritz Karlitzek stepped up for the Germans with 13 points. 



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Germany battles USA on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Takahashi, Japan seek improvement after loss to Canada

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Japan during the VNL in Manila against Canada.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Ran Takahashi and Yuji Nishida vowed to bounce back after fan favorite Japan fell short against Canada in five sets in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3 opener on Tuesday evening at Mall of Asia Arena. 

Energized by the roaring Philippine crowd, Japan fought back from a 1-2 match deficit but still yielded to Canada, 25-21, 20-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-10, dropping to a 6-3 record still in sixth place.

Takahashi, who had 13 points to backstop team captain Yuki Ishikawa and Yuji Nishida, admitted they committed a lot of lapses.

READ: VNL 2024: Canada denies fan favorite Japan in five sets

“We have to improve our reception [and] we have our eyes on a solution. Canada has a really nice and higher block. I think we can do much better. We have our eyes on a solution but we have to improve our reception,” Takahashi told reporters.

After a bronze medal in last year’s VNL, Takahashi believes that the Japanese need to work on their chemistry as they seek to return to the Final Eight, which takes place in Poland.

“We joined immediately after three weeks [since the VNL] started. We had just one week or two weeks of practice. I think we are not perfect. Maybe we need more practice and we need more communication with each player. Then we have to create more [opportunities] for the team,” said the fan favorite, who is playing in his third VNL Manila stint.

READ: ‘Great expectations’ ahead for Japan in VNL Manila leg

Nishida, who led the way with 19 points, expressed his “major” respect for Canada, which he believed played at a high level to tighten its grip on seventh place with a 5-4 record. 

“Every single play is important. I think today was not our kind of game. Many times we didn’t have good plays. Kudos to Canada,” Nishida said. “I’m looking for more combinations and try not to make more mistakes and a little bit more [improvement] on the communication. They are points that I can [improve on] next game. Most importantly, on the communication, obviously on the passion.”

The Japanese, though, still accommodated the Filipino fans at the fan zone as they’ve been the most loved squad since the country started hosting the VNL in 2022.

Japan has two days of rest before seeking to regain its winning ways against the Netherlands on Friday.



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Canada denies fan favorite Japan in five sets

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Canada celebrates a point against Japan in the VNL 2024 Week 3 match in Manila, Philippines. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

VNL 2024 SCHEDULE: Week 3 Manila, Philippines leg

MANILA, Philippines — Most of the Filipino crowd may have been cheering for Japan, but Canada got the last laugh in their crucial Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2024 Week 3 match on Tuesday evening at Mall of Asia Arena.

In front of a good weekday crowd, Canada denied Japan’s fightback in five sets, 25-21, 20-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-10, to keep its Final Eight chances on track with an improved 5-4 record in seventh place.

Thousands of Filipino fans may be on the side of the Japanese, who are playing in their third straight VNL in Manila, but Stephen Maar, who led the collective effort of the Canadians with 24 points, was dauntless.

READ: ‘Great expectations’ ahead for Japan in VNL Manila leg

“Sometimes it’s nice to be the villain so I enjoy that,” Maar said after drilling 22 kills and two aces.

Eric Loeppky had fun in his first game in the country, delivering 15 points built on 13 kills and two blocks as Canada also played in Manila for the third straight year.

“It’s the first game of the week. You never kind of know what you’re gonna expect and I think we came out really strong and they’re a good team so we battled,” Loeppky told reporters. “The fans were awesome here it’s my first time in the Philippines so I really enjoyed that but we’re really happy we came out with the win.”

“I wasn’t here last year, unfortunately. I’ve heard legendary stories all year about how amazing the fans are and I finally got to see it and they can really make some noise. So it’s awesome and it’s a fun environment and I really enjoy playing,” he added.

Arthur Swarc also scored 15 points off 12 spikes, two blocks, and an ace, Pearson Eshenko and Danny Demyanenko chipped in eight points each as Canada got its act together in the fifth set, pulling away with a 10-6 advantage en route to a big win.

Loeppky puts a premium on consistency as they battle Germany on Thursday at 11 a.m.



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“I think for us it’s consistency. Last week, we were able to get big wins but in the following game we struggled a bit. I think that’s our next goal to see how consistent can we play for the next match,” he said.

Japan slid to a 6-3 record still in No.6 despite the efforts of Yuji Nishida and Yuki Ishikawa. Ran Takahashi added 13 points before its next match against the Netherlands on Friday.