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TOKYO, Japan, May 31, 2016 – In its third five-set match in as
many games, Canada secured its first victory at the Men’s World
Olympic Qualification Tournament with a 3-2 (25-19, 24-26,
20-25, 29-27,15-11) win over Australia at Tokyo Metropolitan
Gymnasium on Tuesday.
Canada had five set battles with Poland and Iran to open the
tournament, coming up short in the tie-breaks, but today in a
true team effort they ended up on the winning side.
“We played well against Poland and Iran… but we finally won a
fifth set, so that’s a big monkey off our back,” said Canadian
opposite Gavin Schmitt. “Having a win now is good for the
confidence moving forward.”
Canada’s high scorers were Gordon Perrin (25 points), Nicholas
Hoag (22) and Schmitt (22). Australia’s Thomas Edgar had a
33-point haul to lead all scorers.
In other matches, China swept Venezuela 3-0 (25-16, 25-18,
25-15), France blanked Iran 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22) and Poland
beat Japan 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-23).
Canada plays Venezuela tomorrow at 10:10 local time.
The WOQT is a round robin tournament: eight teams are competing
in 28 games, with each country playing seven matches in as many
days. The top-ranked Asian team and the top three ranked teams,
four in total, will qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. |
