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EDMONTON, Canada, January 8, 2016 – Hosts Canada began their
quest for a men’s volleyball Olympic berth by defeating Mexico
in straight sets 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-16) in the first match of
the NORCECA Qualifier at Saville Sports Centre in Edmonton on
Friday.
John Gordon Perrin topped Canada with 15 points, Dallas Soonias
and Toontje Van Lankvelt each contributed 9 points in the
victory while Daniel Jansen Vandoorn chipped in with 7.
Mexico’s Jorge Barajas had a match-high 16 points as the only
player with offensive double figures for the losing side.
Canada blanked their opponents 7-0 in blocks with four scored
Jansen Vandoorn, but Mexico held a slight margin of 7-6 in aces.
The winners made 18 unforced errors to 28 by the defeated side.
Glenn Hoag, Coach of Canada:
“It was pretty important to get this one in three sets given
that it’s three days in a row and preparation time with the full
team was short. We still need to iron out some stuff, but
everyone was ok today. Our setter was good, our serving was
good. Our reception was ok. We’ll get better. I haven’t seen
Puerto Rico too much, so we’re going to study them now, but
every game will be tough at this point.”
On Dallas Soonias:
“He did pretty good job for a guy who hasn’t played a match in
year. Pretty amazing, I think he’ll continue to grow and get
better as the tournament goes on too. It was his first game in
a full year. And I was worried, because you can jump and hit
when you’re training, but this is an important event…but I don’t
have to be worried anymore.”
On the crowd:
“The crowd was great. I think the guys were a little
overexcited and we made some unforced errors we typically don’t
make, both because of the atmosphere and because of the event
itself. I think we’ll settle down, but the crowd can really help
us.”
On Mexico:
“They’re a scrappy team and a hard team to play sometimes. They
know they have to put a lot into their serve game to pressure
us, and even though we’re used to it because we’ve played Mexico
many times, they are still frustrating to play against.”
Jorge Azair, Coach of Mexico:
“They (Canada) dominated us with their blocking, as always. We
played a good second set and had good moments in the first and
third sets. It was a strong match to start the tournament and
we need to forget about this one and prepare for the next two
which are very important.”
Jorge Barajas, player of Mexico:
“We knew it was going to be a very difficult match for us but it
was a learning experience. Our team is playing better and better
and we expect to improve in our next two matches. Our real goal
is to keep open the chances of qualifying in one of the two
tournaments of the next round.
On his transition to attacker:
“I played as a setter in the juniors but I always considered
myself and attacker and asked the coach for a chance. Now I am
an important part of my team in that role and I am happy with
that.” |
