Canadian men’s volleyball team records second sweep in a row at Nations League

RIMINI, Italy – The Canadian men’s volleyball team swept Japan 3-0 in Nations League action on Thursday.

Set scores were 25-22, 25-23, 25-18.

Canada improved to 4-8 with the win and is 12th in the 16-team standings. Japan dropped to 6-6.

Ryan Sclater of Port Coquitlam, B.C., led Canada with 16 points, while team captain Gord Perrin of Creston, B.C., had 14.

Stephen Maar of Aurora, Ont., and Toronto’s Arthur Szwarc each had 11 points.

It was the second sweep in as many days for the Canadians, who beat Germany on Wednesday.

“I’m happy with the way my team fought today,” Perrin said. “I feel it’s a step forward in this match … we haven’t played our best volleyball so far, but in the games against Germany and Japan we played better and we were able to win.”

The Canadian women play Italy on Friday.

Canada’s men are back in action Monday against the Netherlands.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2021.