Trinity Western’s men’s volleyball team, who are representing Canada at the FISU America Games, dropped a three-set decision to Argentina, losing 27-25, 25-19, 25-19 in the Spartans final game of pool play Tuesday at the Brazilian Paralympic Center.
After a tight first set, the Argentinians took control late in both the second and third sets en route to an impressive victory over the Spartans.
Canada (TWU) will now prepare to play Brazil in the semifinals Wednesday.
“The first set was awesome,” said Spartans coach Ben Josephson. “We had the lead late and then they made a couple really cool plays and stole a couple points and then took that set. After that, we were a little bit shell-shocked and they separated late in both the second and third sets.
“After the first set, I thought Argentina went to a level that we haven’t seen before. They showed incredible skill and patience and poise in their attacking. They had a couple of athletes who were just world class and it was fun to compete against those guys. I don’t think we executed at a high enough level, but we’ll need to if we’re going to beat Brazil tomorrow. We’re looking forward to fixing the things we saw today and having a better performance in the semifinal.”
The Spartans opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Colombia. With their 1-1 record, the Canadian contingent finished second in its pool.
The FISU America Games is a Pan American branch of the FISU World University Games.
This is the third time TWU has donned the Maple Leaf on an international stage. In 2012, the Spartans represented Canada at the U23 Pan American Cup, finishing fourth. In 2011, the team participated in the FIVB Club World Championship as Canada’s representative, finishing with one win from three matches, including a victory over Iranian professional side Paykan Tehran.
FISU America Games Schedule – Canada
July 22nd – Canada (TWU) 3 Colombia 0
July 24th – Argentina 3 Canada (TWU) 0
July 25th – Semifinal – Canada (TWU) vs. Brazil – 1:30 p.m. (PT)
July 26th – Gold and Bronze Medal Matches
CANADA ROSTER FOR FISU AMERICA GAMES
Carter Bergen (Winnipeg)
Jesse Elser (Calgary)
Brodie Hofer (Langley, B.C.)
Ben Lieuwen (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Kaden Gamache (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Adam Schriemer (Winnipeg)
Jordan Schnitzer (Langley, B.C.)
Colton Loewen (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Aaron Boettcher (Surrey, B.C.)
Jacob Kern (Edmonton)
Jordie Koslowsky (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Derek Epp (Saskatoon)
Mike Grypma (Langley, B.C.)
