HAVANA — Canada defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 on Saturday night in men's volleyball to capture the bronze medal in the under-21 Pan American Cup.
Canada, which won the best-of-five match 25-15, 25-21, 21-25, 25-16, had the advantage in kills (56-35), in blocks (10-5) and serves (7-4) but ended with more unforced errors (23-33).
Canada’s strong offence was led by opposite and team captain Jacob Sargent with 24 points, followed by Brendan Mills (19), Kaden Schmidt and Jonah Dueck, both with 12 points.
Opposite hitter Gregory Torres reached 17 points for the losing side.
Canada’s coach Arnd Ludwig said, “I think third place represents where we are. We rebounded well and today's win shows that we progressed over the tournament.
"Especially today, our blocking was better; it's going in the right direction. We still have a lot of things to work on during the next three weeks to prepare the squad for the U-21 World Championship."
Canada had met Puerto Rico earlier in the tournament, winning in five sets.
Host country Cuba won the final (gold) over the USA (silver) in five sets'.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2023.
The Canadian Press
