OTTAWA — Canada’s men’s volleyball team opened its Volleyball Nations League season with a 3-2 (24-26, 25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13) loss to Germany on Wednesday.

Germany led in attack points (62-57) and made fewer errors (30-37).

Serve points were even at three apiece, but Canada led in block points (14-7).

Eric Loeppky paced Canada with 15 points, followed by Sharone Vernon-Evans with 14.

“I’m proud of the guys; they fought hard in a game where we put a lot of pressure on ourselves, maybe a bit too much. I think it’s a normal situation. It’s a long week and we just have to take it one game at a time,” said Canada head coach Dan Lewis.

“Statistically we were actually pretty good, there were just some transition opportunities we probably failed to make and plays that we could be better at,” Lewis added. “We are blending this older and younger group (of players) together, so I’m excited for this week.”

Germany’s Filip John and Tobias Brand led all scorers with 19 points apiece.

Canada will next play France on Thursday at TD Place.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2026.