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Canada collects second victory at VNL

SAN JUAN, Argentina, June 1, 2018 - Graham Vigrass produced a rock-solid performance as Canada brought Italy’s winning start in the Volleyball Nations League to a crashing halt with a 3-1 victory (22-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-16) on Friday.

Vigrass led the way with power and precision and racked up 14 attacking points as the Canadians bounced back from losing the opening set to blunt their opponent’s fierce attacking options and clinch their second win of the tournament.

Stephen Maar joined Vigrass and offered a two-way threat, smashing down 11 winners while also chiming in with four crucial blocks. Maar was involved in what ultimately proved to be the turning point of the match, the final rally of the second set that ended when captain Tyler Sanders tipped the ball downwards for a winner and leveled things at 1-1.

Osmany Juantorena struggled with an elbow injury throughout but fought hard for the Italians, who struggled for the kind of consistency that had seen it defeat Germany, Brazil and Serbia in the opening week of matches. Juantorena collected 14 total points, with Ivan Zaytsev blasting 15 in attack, but it simply wasn’t enough.

While the crowd in San Juan was mainly in attendance to see the host nation Argentina in later action against Iran, it appreciated a tense and entertaining affair that was decided by Canada’s resiliency.