Canadian men lose gold-medal match to U.S. at NORCECA men's volleyball tournament

The U.S. men defeated Canada in the gold-medal game at the NORCECA continental championship in Moncton, N.B. on Wednesday.

The Americans won in a five-set thriller, taking the gold 3-2 (25-19, 26-24, 25-27, 17-25, 15-13).

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Despite the loss, Canada earned a berth to the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup in Poland on Tuesday following its semifinal win over Cuba.

The Canadians will also battle for an Olympic berth this week. On Friday Canada will take on Mexico. If the men win, they will battle either Cuba or the Dominican Republic on Saturday for a spot at the LA28 Olympics. The U.S. has already qualified.

With that upcoming Olympic qualification in mind, Canada used Wednesday’s game as an opportunity to rest some players while others gained valuable international experience.

The Canadians started well, holding early leads of 8-7, 9-8 and 10-9 before the Americans gradually took control to win the first set. The Americans got out to a 17-13 lead in the second set, but Canada battled back to pull ahead 21-20. The teams exchanged points until the United States won on their second set point thanks to a big block by Jake Hanes.

The Canadians continued to push the U.S. in the third set. Canada survived set point at 24-23, then won a pair of exciting rallies on Xander Wassenaar Ketrzynski kills to stay alive with a 27-25 win. The home team rode that momentum into the fourth set, delighting the crowd with a decisive 25-17 win to force the tiebreaker.

The fifth set was a back-and-forth affair. The exuberant fans cheered every Canadian point, but it wasn’t enough to will the home team to victory, as Jacob Pasteur’s kill clinched the win.

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