Canadian men’s rally falls short in loss to US in NORCECA volleyball final

MONCTON — Canada’s men’s volleyball team earned a silver medal after a 3-2 (25-19, 26-24, 25-27, 17-25, 15-13) loss to the United States in the NORCECA men’s continental volleyball championship final on Wednesday.

Canada fell behind early before rallying back into the match and ultimately falling short at the Avenir Centre.

Canada swept Cuba on Tuesday to advance to the final. The win over Cuba earned Canada a berth at the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in Poland.

Canada – along with Cuba, Dominican Republic and Mexico – will now compete in the final NORCECA qualification stage on Friday, with a Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games spot to be decided Saturday. The U.S. is already qualified as Olympic host.

With the qualification in mind, Canada did rest some players and give others more experience.

“This has been obviously a wild summer of many moving parts, but one part that has always been there is the consistency of the play, especially with the younger guys,” said Canada’s head coach Dan Lewis. “I’m so bloody proud of them. They fight so hard and they never, ever stop. They don’t quit, they don’t give up, they continue to search for solutions.”

Canadian Xander Ketrzynski led all scorers with 26 points. Skyler Varga added 14 and Jackson Young chipped in 12.

Matthew Anderson and Jake Hanes each had 18 to lead the U.S.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2026.

The Canadian Press