Canada claims bronze in FIVB World Junior Beach Volleyball Championship
The FIVB world Junior Beach Volleyball Championship third place match took place in Croatia on Sunday, June 26 as the Canadian and Swiss teams went toe to toe for the prize. However, it was the Canadians that would be going home with the bronze medals after
a well fought match, 2-1.
The players from the Canadian side included Aaron Nusbaum and Grant O’Gorman whereas the tenth seeded Swiss team featured Benjamin and Dennis Lerch. The Canadian duo ended the contest against their rivals in three sets with the score board showing: 21-15,
23-25 and 15-13.
The first set of the match was lost by the Swiss as the Canadian team put on an aggressive show and bagged it quite easily. However, the Swiss team was able to pull themselves together in the second set of the game and give the Canadians a run for their
money. What followed was an exciting contest between the two teams as the set kept going back and forth up to the final stages of the game. However, the Swiss were eventually able to pull off a second set victory but the Canadians did not let their rivals
prevail in the third and final set.
When the match had finally reached its end, Nusbaum spoke with reporters and said, “The match was very entertaining, up and down and lots of pressure. You’re one point down and you want to get that side out to tie it back up. We missed the side out and that’s
it, we lost the second set, but came back strong in third to win the last few points in a row so that was a good win for us. My partner sided out very well, had some great receptions, clutch digs and clutch balls.”
By winning themselves the bronze medal both Nusbaum and Gorman have earned their country the first medal in the World Youth competition. The pair has had an eventful journey so far in the tournament. They started of the championships with an undefeated record
to their credit in pool play. However, as soon as they entered the quarter-final stages, Canada started feeling the bumps in the road.
The Canadian pair was up against Lorenze Petutschnig and Tobias Winter and faced a tough game against the Austrians. The eventual victory that the Canadian duo was able to pull off was managed at: 21-25, 25-23 and 15-13.
Next in line for the Canadians are the national championships that are going to take place in the summer. The pair has not yet decided whether they will be participating in the men’s tournament or the Under-18s.
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