Canada off to a wonderful start in the 2012 FIVB World League – Volleyball news
In the opening match of the 2012 FIVB World League on Friday at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, the home team of Canada exhibited a wonderful performance and defeated Finland in straight sets.
Nothing less was expected from the boys around head coach Glenn Hoag and they ended with 3-0 (33-31, 26-24, 25-23) win over Finland in the tournament opener. With splendid victory over guest team from Finland, Canada became the first team to grab success
in Pool B of the 2012 FIVB World League. Almost 3,000 fans had come to watch the thrilling action of volleyball at the sports arena and a lot others got access to their TVs to catch the action. Finland gave a tough competition to hosts but home heroes proved
their supremacy on the centre court.
Gavin Schmitt of Canada emerged as the top-scorer of the match. He contributed 14 spikes on 28 attack attempts and added four blocks on 11 attempts. Furthermore, he also supported his team with one ace in the match. Overall, he bagged 19 points and played
a big role in Canadian victory in the opening affair. Hietanen led was the most effective player on Finnish side as he registered team-high 12 points in the failing effort.
The match started out with an exchange of powerful serves and players on both sides showcased their amazing tactics. The visiting team displayed good effort and jumped to an early at the first technical timeout. The Finnish remained remarkably consistent
and kept the lead in hand for better time in the first set. However, the hosts finally managed to catch up with the visitors and went up after the second technical timeout. Finland tried to bounce back but Canada closed the first set with two points at 33-31.
The first set was surely quite nerve-taking but the following set progressed in the similar fashion. The game of hit ‘n’ run and back ‘n’ forth action continued, while Canada once again managed overcome the opponent. Finland dropped second set with similar
two points, 24-26.
Finland tried its full potential in third set but still failed to beat the charged-up Canadians. Hosts captured third set 28-26 and announced match victory.
“We have to start better. Certainly we showed that we can get a good rhythm by being able to comeback which is good. We have to be better tomorrow against Brazil. I’ve moved on from the Olympic trials and I’m really motivated to play in the World League.
I felt great,” said winning captain Fred Winters after the match.
Moreover, the mentor of Team Canada Glenn Hoag expressed delight about the victory. He stated, “We are really happy with the win. The Finns fought hard and put us in trouble. We struggled with our small game and it nearly cost us. We have a lot of young
guys and they need to play at this level.”
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