Canada drops 3rd straight match in men's Volleyball Nations League with loss to Germany

Canada's men's national volleyball team wrapped up its time in the nation's capital on Sunday with a 3-1 loss to Germany (25-20, 17-25, 21-25, 21-25) in Volleyball Nations League play at TD Place in Ottawa. 

Coming off a loss to the United States on Saturday night, Canada had hoped to leave Ottawa with a pair of wins but failed to hold off the Germans on Sunday, despite opening the match with a first-set win. 

Canada finished the VNL stop in Ottawa with a single win over Cuba, followed by losses to Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallists Argentina, and three-time VNL medallists the United States before Sunday's effort against Germany. 

WATCH | Canada falls to Germany in Ottawa:

Ryan Scaltar of New Westminster, B.C., led the Canadian scoring in the loss, putting up 15 attack points while adding a block point on a night that saw him lead the squad by four points. After leading the team scoring in Saturday's loss, Stephen Maar of Aurora, Ont., put up 12 points against Germany. 

Canadian captain Nicholas Hoag, a native of Sherbrooke, Que., chipped in with nine points of his own. 

For Germany, the win ended a three-match winless streak to open its VNL campaign, as 24-year-old Tobias Brand put up 16 points to move the team into the win column for the first time in 2023. While Germany has a long road ahead of them, sitting at 1-3, with losses to the Netherlands, Brazil and Italy to complement their win, they moved past Canada in the standings into 13th place. 

The 2023 competition is the fifth edition, featuring the top 16 nations in the world. The top eight after the preliminary phase will compete for the title and medals at the VNL Finals in July in Gdańsk, Poland (July 19-23).

Also in action in Ottawa on Sunday, Argentina