Cuba serves up defeat to Canada

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This article was published 07/09/2019 (2411 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Canadian men’s volleyball team was in less-than-stellar form Friday night in a defeat to Cuba, and can only hope for an enhanced performance the next time the countries feud on the court.

The stakes will be considerably higher in four months’ time.

Canada, ranked sixth in the world, was thumped by No. 18 Cuba in one of two semifinals at the NORCECA Continental Championship at the University of Winnipeg’s Duckworth Centre. The Cubans, led by the hard serve and big swat of Miguel Angel Lopez, posted a 3-1 victory over the hosts on scores of 17-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-19.

Cuba now faces the world’s second-ranked team, the United States, in today’s gold-medal contest. The opening service is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Duckworth Centre. The Canadians will vie for the bronze medal, instead, against Mexico at 2 p.m.

The U.S. downed Mexico in the other semifinal late Friday.

Ignited by a boisterous crowd, the Canadians easily pulled away in the opening set but made far too many mistakes in the second. The Cubans regrouped during the break and immediately starting firing lasers from the service line and never looked back.

“We started really well. Our defence was excellent. But the second set, we started to lose our focus on our serving, committing seven errors on serves in the first 16 points. That’s what brought them back in the game,” Canadian head coach Glenn Hoag said. “We struggled stopping No. 18 (Lopez).

“We were playing catchup (the third and fourth sets) because they were serving really, really well. It was good to feel that from that team, that power. We haven’t played them in a long, long time and we’ll meet them in January.”

Indeed, the two sides will renew acquaintances early in the new year.

Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico all punched their tickets this week to the NORCECA final four Olympic qualification, a four-team tournament to be held in January. The Cubans had wrapped up a spot before arriving in Winnipeg, while the Americans are already going to Tokyo.

No site has been chosen for the final Olympic men’s qualifier, although a bid from Volleyball Canada on behalf of a Canadian city is probable, considering the national squad remains the highest-ranked national team in the world without a reservation booked for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.

So, while Canada must settle for no better than third this week in Winnipeg, the ultimate goal is very much alive.

“There’s a lot on the line when we play them again and we’re eagerly looking forward to that opportunity,” said Canadian setter Brett Walsh, a Calgary product. “It’s mixed emotions because we’re really happy to qualify for January. We want to be in the Olympics and this was an important step for us.

“But any time you step on the court, you want to win the game. So we’re pretty disappointed to come out on the losing end of this one.”

Lopez, 22, who was on the Cuban squad as a teen in Rio in 2016, finished the night with 17 kills and four service aces.

Stephen Maar led Canada with 14 kills and a service ace, while Sharone Vernon-Evans hammered 10 kills.

Jason DeRocco of East St. Paul, the only Manitoban on the team, came in as a substitute in the third set for Canada and tried to be a calming influence with some quality passing. But the Cubans continued to build momentum.

“They’re really aggressive, as we know they are. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that great a job of holding the receive on their strong serve and that’s going to kill us if they play like that,” DeRocco said. “They don’t miss a lot, they make a lot of very strong serves in good positions.

“It’s just one of those matches: you tip your hat to them and say, ‘Good job.’”

The 2019 World Cup, a 12-team international championship set for Japan next month, will serve as a terrific tuneup for a few players on the Canadian roster. Hoag said he’ll use the tournament as an opportunity for some of the national program’s younger players not on this trip to fill out the squad and garner some valuable international experience.

 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell