Team Canada has improved to two wins and zero losses at the 2018 World Volleyball Championships in Ruse, Bulgaria on Thursday. The Canadian squad beat Egypt in straight sets 27-25, 30-28, 25-19.
It was once again a strong offensive game for Canadian wing spiker Nicholas Hoag of Gatineau, Quebec. Hoag had 24 points to lead Canada in scoring for the second straight game. Hoag was also extremely consistent throughout the match as he scored eight points in every set.
Another Canadian player reached double digits in scoring. John Gordon Perrin of Creston, British Columbia scored 18 points, as he had six points in each set. Hoag led Team Canada with 21 spikes and two blocks, while Graham Vigrass of Calgary, Alberta led Team Canada with three aces.
Team Canada currently leads Brazil by one point in Pool B. The Brazilians are also 2-0, but needed the full five sets to beat France 25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 15-12 in a marathon on Thursday. Due to the fact Brazil needed to go the distance, they only received two of a possible three points. Brazil has won three World Men’s Volleyball Championships (2002, 2006 and 2010), while France has won the European Volleyball Championship just three years ago.
There are five other teams who have won their first two games of the tournament. They are the United States, Poland, Iran, Italy and Slovenia. Canada’s next match is against China on Saturday. The Chinese have a record of zero wins and two losses. They lost their first two games of the tournament to France and the Netherlands.
