Canadian men’s volleyball team downs Dutch for third straight Nations League sweep

RIMINI, Italy — The Canadian men’s volleyball team swept the Netherlands 3-0 in Nations League action on Thursday.

Set scores were 25-16, 25-16 and 25-19.

Canada improved to 5-8 with the win and is 12th in the 16-team standings. It was Canada’s third straight sweep after posting 3-0 wins over Germany and Japan last week.

The Netherlands dropped to 2-11.

Toronto’s Sharone Vernon-Evans led Canada with 14 points. Team captain Gord Perrin of Creston, B.C., and Nicholas Hoag of Sherbrooke, Que., each added 11, while Calgary’s Graham Vigrass had 10.

“We came here trying to build up the team ahead of the Olympic Games,” Canadian libero Blair Bann of Edmonton said. “It’s our last weekend at the VNL and at a real competition before, so we must come out and try. We put a lot of pressure on the Netherlands with our service.”

The Canadians, who have already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, are back in action Tuesday against 16th-place Australia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2021.

The Canadian Press