Defending Champion Cuba defeated in the NORCECA Junior trophy semi-final
The NORCECA Junior Continental Men’s Volleyball Championship 2010 stormed the Canadian city of Quebec this month. It officially started on Monday at the Centre Sportif de Gatineau. The biennial event produced some amazing results.
The championship has a distinct feature of awarding the gold-medal winning team 3 berths for the next event by default. In 2008, Cuba faced Canada during the final match and emerged victorious after a grueling battle. By principle, Cuba as the champion earned 3 berths for the 2010 event while Canada claimed one berth on finishing at the second place.
This week, Canada took on Cuba in the semi-final match and while taking advantage of the home court & crowd, stunned the Cuban team with a remarkable win. The match’s first set was opened on a high note and both the teams came up with heavy strikes. The Cuban players hit some court-thumping spikes that scored points for them. The first line Canadian blockers were upset with the delivery of unstoppable shots by the Cuban side. Canada focused on its defense and hit back strong line-shots. Each team was trying hard to take lead but ultimately Cuba succeeded to push Canada behind by posting 25-22 and winning the first set. After the initial setback, Canada recapped and formulized an attack strategy. They opened the 2nd set with perfect serves and great passing among their players.
With the exhibition of under-hand shots, they were able to take full control of the set. Canada was successful in creating a lead but the real climax was yet to come. The Canadian spikers bombarded the Cuban defense and didn’t let them regain balance. Canada, ultimately made its way to the third set winning the second one by 25-19. The game entered its 3rd set with an aggressive tone. The Canadian players had high confidence and they thus delivered powerful hits while the Cubans seemed to be in desperate condition after experiencing frequent shakes. The Canadian team restricted them to a low score and at the end; the defending champions collapsed and received a 25-7 defeat. The fourth set also couldn’t bring better luck for Cuba and they lost it also by 15-25. Canada achieved a 3-1(22-25, 25-19, 25-7, and 25-17) win over Cuba and resultantly qualified for the final match.
Canada’s Matthew Schriemer was the centre of attention and applause. He played a vital role in his team’s triumph by scoring 21 points. In addition, the top-spiker Nicholas Hoag also amazed everyone with a delivery of bullet smashes. He added 16 points to the team’s victory. The Canadian Captain Tristan Aubry while expressing his delight said that his strategy worked out. The Canadian head coach Greg Barthel also appreciated his team and said, “Victory means a lot. We came in with a very good plan and also played a good game. I think we are creating our identity here in Canada for the volleyball.” He added, “The players worked so hard together and played so hard for each other. We had a goal to be in the top two of this tournament. We are there now but we don’t want to stop here.” On the other hand, the Cuban coach blamed the timing and tactics for his team’s defeat. He said that the third set was worst of all.
With this particular win, Canada has also earned a spot at the 2011 Junior Championship to be held in Brazil.
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