HAVANA, Cuba, June 8, 2023 – Canada’s team went undefeated in pool play at the U21 Men’s NORCECA Pan American Cup in Cuba.
 
Canada beat Dominican Republic in straight sets 25-17, 25-14, 25-22 to top pool A yesterday and advance directly to the semifinals to be held on Friday at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
 
Canada began the tournament with a five-set marathon win over Puerto Rico, followed by two three-site victories with Haiti and Dominican Republic respectively.
 
"We had a very tough first match versus Puerto Rico. Winning in five after three and a half hours was definitely big boost for us,” said Canada’s Head Coach Arnd Ludwig. "Puerto Rico was our toughest opponent in this group … That was a typical first game of a tournament when players are nervous and with a lot of errors on both sides. But our game is improving - it has stabilized since then and have we reduced the amount of unforced errors. 
 
"Winning the pool was great and gives us an extra day of rest before the semis (against either USA or Dominican Republic) tomorrow."

Cuba also reached the semis directly after winning the other pool.
 
The competition marks the beginning of the qualification process for the 2025 FIVB U21 Men’s Championship.

Follow the team’s progress at the Pan Am Cup at www.norceca.net
 
2023 U21 Men
Devin Cooney, Kanata ON
Dennis Cota, Mississauga ON
Jonah Dueck, Rosenort  MB
Reeve Gingera, Calgary  AB
Spencer Grahame, Selkirk MB
Mason Greves, Calgary  AB
Josh Jehle, St. Andrews  MB
Samuel Ludwig, Winnipeg MB
Isaiah Mamer, Wilkie SK
Brendan Mills, London  ON
Lucas Musschoot, Grenfell SK
Renn Petryk, Edmonton  AB
Matthew Rugosi, Toronto ON
Jacob Sargent, Lethbridge AB
Kaden Schmidt, Mississauga ON
Cory Schoenherr, Waterloo ON
 
Staff                                                   
U21 Head Coach: Arnd (Lupo) Ludwig                    
U21 Asst. Coach :  Mike Stephens              
U21 Asst. Coach : Sean McKay                    
U21 Statistician  Christophe Elek               
U21 Therapist: Meredith Waisman                        
NextGen & U21 Strength and conditioning: Louis-Jean Tremblay                 
U21 MPC : Brendan Dinsdale      
High Performance Director: Julien Boucher                          
Team Coordinator Matheus Braz              
U21 Team Manager : Melanie Desrochers                            
                                                           
Photo: VolleyballWorld

Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
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