Brno, Czech Republic, June 29, 2017 –
Canada’s solid blocking throughout the match, led by opposite
Tariq Sani, was the main reason the North American team managed to come back from a two-set deficit against
Argentina, stamp a 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11) victory and finish third in Pool F of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship.
Tariq Sani and
Deanan Gyimah scored five kill blocks each out of the team’s 14 overall. Sani also became the best scorer of the match with 25 points.
Eric Loeppky added 22, while
Juan Horacio Bucciarelli was Argentina’s most prolific player with 20 points.
Argentina’s offense was working better than Canada’s in the first two sets to give the South Americans a solid lead after 25-23 and 25-21. With coach
Gino Brousseau’s substitutions working out well for the team, Canada’s stable blocking performance from the first two sets continued over the next three, changing the momentum of the match. The North Americans took the third and the fourth by the same score - 25-22, to set the stage for a decisive fifth. Sani alone hit six points in the tie-breaker on the way to a 15-11 win.