Toronto, ON, Canada
For those lucky enough to have tickets to the match that pitted Canada against rival USA in Men’s Pan Am Games volleyball, it was a match filled with excitement, huge spikes, towering blocks and a scoreline that suited the home crowd just fine. Canada defeated the USA 19-25, 25-27, 25-23, 25-16 and 15-12 in a five-set thriller.
Canada entered the match in second place after two matches played in Group B of Pan Am Games volleyball. With the teams coming out to a packed house at Pan Am Park, the match started off well for the host nation. Through much of the first set, the teams traded points, each holding short-lived leads. The US began to pull ahead through the middle of the set, forcing Canada into a series of timeouts to regain control. The breaks didn’t work, as the team from the South repeatedly found the boundary lines, closing out the first set 25-19.
The second game was hotly contested. As in the first, each team held modest advantages through the second set with the Canadians playing catch-up at times. As the set drew to a conclusion, Canada took the lead, but its failure to close out the set combined with some timely American points sent the set into extra points where the Americans again prevailed, 27-25.
There was a change in the crowd in the third set, as it rallied to the aid of their team. The energy was through the roof —which was a phenomenon that remained through the balance of the match. Canada started very strongly, opening up a four-point lead early. Through most of the early and middle stages, Canada maintained their lead. The US did manage to bring their deficit to within a point, but Canada closed out strongly, 25-23.
Down two sets to one, the tone of the match completely changed in the fourth set. Feeling a shift in momentum, the pro-Canadian crowd was loud. Moreover, there was the sense of animosity between several players on either side of the net which was picked up on by the crowd who joined in.
Canada simply dominated the fourth set, cruising an easy 25-19 win, forcing a myriad of timeouts from the Americans as well as a seldom-seen yellow card given for arguing the referee’s call. To say the Americans were rattled is an understatement, but to their credit they seemed to be positive and rallied together as best they could.
Canada opened up a small lead in the fifth set to the delight of the crowd, which only seemed to gather in volume level. Canada’s three-point lead early in the deciding set was maintained throughout, as it closed out the match 15-12, finishing atop the group standings with an unblemished three wins, giving up only four sets.
The energy from the crowd in this contest, both from the large Canadian contingent but also for the travelling Americans in attendance, was very evident. In fact, it was a great match to watch from both fan bases’ perspectives. Perhaps indoor volleyball will never become a mainstream sport, but that’s not to say it is any less intense or skilful as any other. For those lucky to have been there last night, you will remember that match for a long while.
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