Canada’s men’s volleyball team knocked out in quarters at Tokyo Olympics | CBC Sports

Canada couldn’t keep up with the ROC in the opening set, but it managed to respond after a slow start and tie things up late in the second. Canada saved five set points, but the ROC maintained pressure and claimed another set.

Canada kept things close but ultimately trailed throughout the third against a relentless offence as the ROC closed things out.

Team captain Gordon Perrin led Canada with 15 points, while Ryan Sclater had his best game of the tournament with 14 points.

Canada faced a tough test against the ROC in Tokyo. The team finished first in its pool with a 4-1 record during the group stage and is currently ranked No. 3 in the world. No. 10 Canada was coming off a straight-sets loss to world No. 2 Poland in its final preliminary round match on Saturday, finishing the group stage with a 2-3 record.

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Action went back and forth to open the first set until an ace from Maksim Mikhaylov gave the ROC breathing room. Volkov came through with back-to-back spikes to extend the lead, and Ilyas Kurkaev shut down Nicholas Hoag with a block to give the ROC an early five-point advantage.

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With Glenn Hoag back at the helm of this team, he could make the difference between them being on the podium or not, because he brings a lifetime of coaching experience from Canada and around the world. 1:35

Sclater fired a shot past Ivan Iakovlev and followed it up with his second ace of the tournament to bring Canada within three points at 9-6.

Hoag hammered a shot cross court to move Canada closer, and Sclater came through again from the right side to put his team within a point.

Canada’s Sharone Vernon-Evans came into the game, but he was soon denied at the net by a block from Egor Kliuka. Vernon-Evans turned the tables and denied Kliuka with a block of his own, but it was not enough as a tip from Mikhaylov ultimately won the opening set.

Canada began to claw its way back in the second set following a quick start from the ROC, with an ace from Hoag bringing Canada a point away.

The Canadian squad was fired up after Lucas Van Berkel shut down Mikhaylov at the net, and Hoag notched a big kill to make the score 11-0. Sclater denied Volkov on the following play to tie the game.

The set remained tight with the teams pulling even again late, and Canada dug deep to save five set points. But Mikhaylov finished it off again with another hammer, putting the ROC up by two sets.

An ace from Perrin moved Canada closer at 22-19, and Sclater added a point on the ensuing play to give his team a jolt of life. But it was once again too little too late, as Volkov blasted a shot off Canada’s Blair Bann to seal the sweep.

Canada started the tournament with back-to-back losses to Italy and Japan, but it bounced back to earn consecutive straight-sets wins over Iran and Venezuela. The top four teams in each pool moved on to the quarter-finals, with Canada finishing ahead of Iran on points for fourth place in the group.

Canada’s best result in the men’s tournament came in 1984 with a fourth-place finish, and it didn’t compete on the Olympic stage again until Rio in 2016. Canada hasn’t had a women’s team qualify for the tournament since 1996.