JUNE 10, 2026: On a familiar court at the Arena at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada’s men’s team kicked off their Volleyball Nations League campaign with a 2-3 (26-24, 19-25, 25-20, 21-25, 13-15) loss to Germany today.

“I’m proud of the guys; they fought hard in a game where we put a lot of pressure on ourselves, maybe a bit too much. I think it’s a normal situation. It’s a long week and we just have to take it one game at a time,” said Dan Lewis, who is in his second year at head coach.

"Statistically we were actually pretty good, there were just some transition opportunities we probably failed to make and plays that we could be better at. We are blending this older and younger group (of players) together, so I’m excited for this week. It’s just a matter of taking a moment to decompress and debrief. France is tomorrow and it’s going to be a lot of good opponents this week. We just have to figure out the small things to fix and work on them."

Germany led in attack points (62-57) and made fewer errors (30-37). Serve points were even at three and Canada led in block points 14-7. For Canada, Eric Loeppky led scoring with 15 points (14 kills and a block); followed by Sharone Vernon-Evans with 14 (9 kills, four blocks and an ace).

Germany’s Filip John and Tobias Brand led all scorers with 19 points apiece.

Tomorrow, Canada plays France at 7:30 pm ET, which can be viewed on CBC Sports/Radio-Canada domestically and VBTV worldwide.

Canada has hosted VNL in Ottawa at TD Place since 2018, with the men last playing in the nation's capital in 2024.

Tickets: https://www.tdplace.ca/event/volleyball-nations-league/

Team Canada Players
Landon Currie – Coldstream, BC
Danny Demyanenko – Toronto, ON
Max Elgert – Athabasca, AB
Pearson Eshenko – Banff, AB
Mason Greves – Calgary, AB
Daenan Kofi Gyimah – Scarborough, ON
Luke Herr – Winnipeg, MB
Brodie Hofer – Langley, BC
Zachary Hollands – Victoriaville, QC
Jackson Howe – Calgary, AB
Xander Ketrzynski – Toronto, ON
Eric Loeppky – Steinbach, MB
Stephen Maar – Aurora, ON
Erik Siksna – Markham, ON
Arthur Szwarc – Toronto, ON
Skyler Varga – Muenster, SK
Sharone Vernon-Evans – Scarborough, ON
Jackson Young – Toronto, ON

Staff
Dan Lewis – Head Coach
Juan Manuel Mendez – Assistant Coach
Chris Voth – Assistant Coach
Damian Musiak – Performance Analyst
Meredith Waisman – Sport Physiotherapist
Nicholas Poelman – Chiropractor
Kyle Paquette – Mental Performance Coach
Donna McDonagh – Mental Health Lead
Emilie Rousseau Comtois – Sport Dietician
Cassandra Nicol – Team Manager
Julien Boucher – High Performance Director

Tournament website: https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/volleyball-nations-league

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