August 15, 2022: Canada reached the podium of the 15th Pan American Cup after last night's gold-medal match in Gatineau, Quebec. 
 
The Cuban team swept home-crowd favourites 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-23) to win gold; Canada was awarded silver and the U.S. won the bronze-medal match over Chile.
 
In the final match, the Canadians attempted a come back, but too late to force another set. "We learned that we could play with Cuba and we were playing well in the second and third set. It’s a good sign for this young team," said team captain and setter Luke Herr of Winnipeg. "We grew as a group throughout the tournament and different guys stepped up at different times, so it was really a group effort."
 
Last night, Cuba had the advantage in all skills – a strong offense with 39 attack points (compared with 26 by Canada), 7-3 in blocking and 6-3 in service points. Canada gained 25 points from Cuban errors, compared with 23 Canadian team errors. 
 
Opposite Jesus Herrera of Cuba topped the score sheet with 15 points and teammates Osniel Hernandez and Miguel Angel Lopez scored 11 apiece. Mathias Elser was top scorer for Canada with eight points.
 
"It was a well-executed tournament by these guys. We didn’t have much time training as a group.... They are pretty young and I’m not sure they realize their full capacity yet," said coach Dan Lewis, who also NextGen coach for the men’s program. "It was a real pleasure for me to work with this group. It’s an incredibly strong group of characters and it was a joy for me."
 
Eight teams were part of the tournament held at the Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau.
 
Canada won two individual awards – Jordan Schnitzer as best blocker of the tournament and Luke Herr as best setter.
 
Cuba, a team that also recently earned a spot in next year’s FIVB Volleyball Nations League, also was awarded a berth to the 2023 Pan American Games.

Canada’s roster
Luke Herr (captain) Winnipeg, MB
Max Elgert, Edmonton, AB           
Fynn McCarthy, Lake Country, BC        
Jordan Schnitzer, Surrey, BC
Xander Ketrzynski, Toronto, ON
Marc Wilson, Stratford, ON           
Brodie Hofer, Langley, BC
Jordan Canham, Avonmore, ON
Sam Cooper, Hamilton, ON
Mathias Elser, Calgary, AB                     
Cole Ketrzynski, Toronto, ON
Logan House, Barrie, ON            
Justin Lui (libero), Pickering, ON
Jordan Pereira (libero), St. Catharines, ON         
 
STAFF                              
Dan Lewis - Head Coach                      
Brad Hudson - Assistant Coach
Grant Wilson - Assistant Coach
Lionel Bonnaure - Statistician
Melissa Healy - Therapist                          
Georges Laplante - Team Manager       

NORCECA event web page: https://bit.ly/3z7jyKQ
Online: YouTube and www.cbcsports.ca (Finals)

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

Photo: Ottawa Sports Photography