Canada Advances to Semifinals with Victory over Costa Rica

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, August 7, 2026.- Canada defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-16) to advance to the semifinals of the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup at the Multi-Sports Dome in Guatemala City.

Blocking and powerful attacks at the net were Canada’s main weapons in their straight-set victory over Costa Rica. The Costa Ricans battled at the beginning of each set, but Canada’s experience and strength allowed them to take control and secure the victory.

Canada led the match statistics, with its biggest advantage coming in blocks, 10-1. The Canadians also held the edge in attacks 38-28 and aces 5-3.

Only three players reached double figures in scoring, all of them from Canada. Liam Bendavid, Graydon Wallace and captain Julian Josephs finished with 10 points apiece. None of the three played the entire match, as head coach Jordan Taylor rested them during several stretches of the contest.

Canada will face Mexico in the semifinals on Saturday at 6:00 p.m., while Costa Rica will play Honduras at 4:00 p.m. in the classification round.

Liam Bendavid of Canada: “Tomorrow we need to improve our passing, play a cleaner game, and be better with our blocking when we face Mexico. We hope to play together as a team and win the semifinal.”

Braulio Alvarado of Costa Rica: “Despite the loss, we are very happy because we didn’t expect to do this well against a team like Canada. We believed we could do more than just come out and play against them. Tomorrow, I hope we can get the win.”