Canada beat Dominican Republic and joined the Final Four

 

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 6, 2007.- Canada completed the final four teams in the semi final phase of the Men’s Volleyball Pan American Cup after scoring a 25-23, 25-15, 25-23 over host Dominican Republic.

 

Canada overcame an 11-16 deficit in the first set, and never looked back taking control of the action.

 

Mark Dodd had 20 points for Canada and Toontje Van Lankvelt and Kris Brand contributed 11 and 9 points. Dominicans Elvis Contreras and Jose Caceres each had 12 and Eury Almonte added 9.

 

Now Canada will meet Puerto Rico while Mexico plays against Cuba on Thursday. In the match for the fifth position, Panama clashes with Dominican Republic.

 

“It is the best we have played in the tournament and we have been climbing,” said Brock Davidiux, the Canadian Captain. “Also is very satisfying to defeat the host team because it shows a lot of composure from a young team.”

 

Juan Carlos Perdomo, the Dominican coach, pointed out the “lack of consistency” as the key factor for the loss. “There is also a wide gap in the game level of some of our players and the rest of the team. And we need to keep working hard to overcome those hurdles.”