Poland defeated Canada 3-2 (15-25, 25-23, 28-26, 23-25, 15-12) to finish in 11th place in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship.

Canada finishes 12th overall in the 16-team age-category World Championship.

“I think it was a great experience for the players in this World Championship but we were not happy where we finished considering we had our goal for this tournament,” explained Joao Paulo Bravo, Canada’s head coach. “We were trying to fight for ninth place, so we have to work more and get better in the aspects (of the game) where we didn’t do so well.”

Of today’s match with the former World Champion country, Poland, Canada’s team captain Mathias Elser told www.fivb.com: “We missed an opportunity in the second set. We definitely had them down and they came back strong. We were up and then we had a little bit of an energy dip and they came back and took that set. That took us out of the groove for the rest of the game.”

“I think the tournament met my expectations. It was awesome to get a bunch of high-level volleyball matches, which we don’t get too much of back home. It was great just having an experience we can use in our careers as we move forward in this sport,” said Elser.

Iran won the 2019 title after a five-set win over Italy today.  Brazil took the bronze medal.

Pool G (second round)
July 26: Cuba def. Canada 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 25-19)
July 24: Egypt def. Canada 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 26-28, 25-23)
July 23: Canada def. Czech Republic 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 28-26, 15-25, 17-15)
July 22: Canada def. Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 19-25, 25-17)

Pool D (preliminary round) results: 
July 20: Poland def. Canada 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 26-24)
July 19: Brazil def. Canada 3-0 (25-25, 25-19, 25-13)
July 18: Italy def. Canada 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-15)

U21 travelling roster:
Jackson Bere, Toronto, ON
Jordan Canham, Newington, ON
Jesse Elser, Calgary, AB
Mathias Elser, Calgary, AB (captain)
Colm Guyn, Lethbridge, AB
Brodie Hofer, Langley, BC
Xander Ketrzynski, Toronto, ON
Coltyn Liu, Vancouver, BC
Justin Lui, Pickering, ON
Fynnian McCarthy, Lake Country, BC
Matthew Neaves, Calgary, AB
Alexis Tournier, Gatineau, QC

Staff:
Head coach: Joao Paulo Bravo
Asst. Coach: Adam Simac
Asst. Coach: Shayne White
Statistician: Daniel Cuzmar-Grimalt
Athletic Therapist: Seadon Pereira
Team Manager: Melanie Desrochers