Canada opens with demolition of St. Lucia

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 30, 2014 – Canada demolished St Lucia 3-0 (25-10, 25-7, 25-8) in their first match in Pool B of the NORCECA U21 Men’s Continental Championship in the second competition day at “Palacio de los Deportes”.

Outside-hitter Brandon Koppers led all scorers with 10 points for Canada while Tevin St Jean and Augustin Faulkner with three points were the best for Saint Lucia. Canada led in attacks 21-8, blocks 7-1 and aces 8-0. Canada scored 39 points on Saint Lucia errors while committing 16.

Canada (1-0) will face the Puerto Rico (1-0) on Thursday at 4:00 pm and Saint Lucia (0-2) finished stage group and they must wait for play in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Quotes

Kevin Norville, Saint Lucia’s Captain: “It was a tough game, we put a lot of work from our side and this experience will be useful to us. The reception was good but we lacked concentration in the attack. Hopefully we can play better in the next game.”

Rudy Avril, Saint Lucia’s Coach: “We knew it would be a difficult game, but we were fine with the reception. We improved the reception and it helped to organize the attack. We need more experience for the attack, because most of our attacks were stopped by the block. This is a new experience for us and we need improve.”

Ryan Nickifor, Captain of Canada: “We expected a good defensive team, although they have a lower level, they are here for some reason. They (Saint Lucia) had a good match and we hope to prepare better for the next game".

John Barrett, Canada’s Coach: “The attitude was very important for our team today. We need the same attitude every day no matter who we play.  I made a lot of changes so everybody have the feeling of playing in this stadium. Fortunately I was able to use many players today in this match. I think the communication between them was good. They spoke a lot and loud.”