Canada will play Cuba on Saturday in the Men’s NORCECA Olympic Volleyball Qualification Tournament final. The winner of the North American, Central American and Caribbean tournament from the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, will qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
On Friday in the semifinals, Canada defeated Mexico 25-21, 25-18, 25-13. Four Canadians reached double digits in points in the match. Captain and outside hitter Eric Loeppky of Winnipeg, Manitoba had 17 points, opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans of Scarborough, Ontario had 13 points, middle blocker Jackson Howe of Calgary, Alberta had 10 points and outside hitter Stephen Maar of Aurora, Ontario had 10 points. Meanwhile, middle blocker Fynn McCarthy of Kelowna, British Columbia led Canada with four aces.
In the second semifinal on Friday, Cuba defeated the Dominican Republic 32-30, 25-19, 25-15. Miguel Lopez, the Cuban captain, led the Cuban attack, as he had 23 points.
One area where Canada needs to improve are their starts. Mexico had a 14-9 lead in the first set before Canada came back.
Canada has sent a men’s volleyball team to the last three Olympic Games. They reached the quarterfinals after impressive wins over the United States, Mexico and Italy at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Then at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, Canada made the quarterfinals again after wins over Iran and Venezuela.
There are two nations that have qualified for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. They are the United States as the host and Japan as the Asian champion.
