Sept. 30, 2023: Canada came out on the winning side of a five-set battle with Netherlands at the Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament (OQT) Pool C opening day in Xi’an, China, on Saturday. 

Netherlands 2 Canada 3: 21-25, 25-23, 26-24, 18-25, 12-15

"It was a good victory, which is very important for the team and for confidence,” said head coach Tuomas Sammelvuo. "But we are already focused on tomorrow and recovering for the game (against Argentina)."

It’s a quick turnaround for the next match – 10 am Sunday in China, 10 pm ET Saturday.

Today, Netherlands came out swinging hard – leading in attack points (69-57), but also gave up more points to errors (34-25). Canada led in blocking (13-5) and service aces (8-3).

Dutch star opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz led the attack, with 29 points; followed by Maarten Van Garderen with 19. For Canada, it was more of team effort – Arthur Szwarc (19 points – including 2 blocks), Stephen Maar (18 points total, with 2 blocks and an ace) and Eric Loeppky (15 total, with a block and an ace).

The tournament runs until October 8. Men’s Pool C includes Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland and hosts China in the hunt for two spots at Paris 2024. Of these teams, Poland is the highest ranked at number one and a favourite.
 
For more on the qualification system, visit  https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/volleyball-olympic-qualifying-tournament/competition/qualification-system
 
This tournament followed the women’s OQT, which also saw Canada beat Netherlands in five sets on the opening day and have a solid tournament despite just missing out on qualification, just one point behind the second-place finisher, Serbia. Dominican Republic won the pool.
 
Viewers’ guide

• Web site https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/volleyball-olympic-qualifying-tournament/
• In Canada live streamed: www.cbcsports.ca
• Worldwide (by subscription): VBTV

Men’s Roster (OQT)
1 Pearson Eshenko, Banff, AB
2 Luke Herr, Winnipeg, MB
4 Nicholas Hoag, Sherbrooke, QC
5 Brodie Hofer, Langley, BC
6 Danny Demyanenko, Toronto, ON
7 Stephen Maar, Aurora, ON
8 Brett Walsh, Calgary, AB
12 Lucas Van Berkel, Edmonton, AB
13 Samuel Cooper, Hamilton, ON
14 Arthur Szwarc, Toronto, ON
16 Jordan Schnitzer, Surrey, BC
18 Justin Lui, Pickering, ON
20 Jordan Canham, Avonmore, ON
80 Eric Loeppky, Steinbach, MB
97 Landon Currie, Coldstream, BC
 
Staff:
Head Coach: Tuomas Sammelvuo
Assistant Coach: Joao Paulo Bravo
Assistant Coach: Michael Hawkins
Strength and Conditioning: Michael Cook
Athletic Therapist: Melissa Healy
Chiropractor: Abery Avender 
Performance Analyst: Lionel Bonnaure
Team Manager: Cassandra Nicol
High-Performance Director: Julien Boucher

Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676