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Canada to play Mexico for the title

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, September 8, 2021 – Canada defeated Dominican Republic in straight sets 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-20) on Wednesday to join Mexico in the gold medal match of the Men’s Volleyball Pan American Cup.

It was the second win of Canada over Dominican Republic in the competition following their 3-1 victory when the two sides met with undefeated record at 3-0 in the preliminary phase.

Canada outscored Dominican Republic in blocking (6-1) and aces (5-0) while leading in attacks (46-33). The winners made 12 unforced errors to 18 by the defeated side.

Jesse Elser and Brodie Hofer, the two top Canadian scorers, once again led their side with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Jackson Howe chipped in with 9 points, including four blocks.

Henry Tapia and Alexis Cruz were the main Dominican weapons with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Ben Josephson, coach of Canada: “The Dominican team has a lot of power with their serves so our plan was to focus on a good reception and then use our velocity to have a chance. Our reception worked very well, we had long rallies and then we were able to close before the Dominicans got in a groove.”

José Mañon, coach of Dominican Republic: “I really don’t know what to say about this match. We came in with a lot of illusions that began at the training session and look what happened: a 3-0 loss. The last set was very bad but in the other two we battled. This is a group of young boys with a lot of talent who needs to play together.”