September 13, 2025.- Playing his first match with the Canadian national team since the Tokyo Olympics four years ago, opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans made a difference and helped the North Americans avoid what would have been a major upset, scoring 22 points to lead them to victory in their 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship debut.
Canada faced Libya, who returned to the World Championship after 45 years, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Pasay City, Philippines. The Canadians came back after unexpectedly dropping the first set and prevailed 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-12, 29-27) in the Pool G opening match.
Despite the opening-set loss, Canada still secured all three points with their four-set victory, while the Libyans left empty-handed. Each team will play two more group-stage matches, and the top two will advance to the Round of 16.
A key figure for Canada between 2017 and 2021, the 27-year-old Vernon-Evans had transitioned to beach volleyball, appearing in some Beach Pro Tour events in 2023. In his return to international indoor volleyball, he picked up where he left off and finished as the match’s top scorer with 22 points (16 kills, three blocks, three aces).
Canadian captain and outside hitter Nicholas Hoag, also returning after missing the Nations League, shone with 20 points (15 kills, four aces, one block). Middle blockers Fynn McCarthy and Daenan Gyimah added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
“I think everyone was a little nervous in the first set,” Hoag admitted. “Libya plays very aggressively, and if they pass well, they’re hard to stop. I’m glad we got the win, but we need to play better if we want to beat Japan in the next match. They’re a great team, we can’t give them anything. We’ll also need to be very disciplined with our blocking.”
Serving was the big difference: Canada scored 15 aces against only 3 from Libya. The North Americans held a slight edge in kills (51 to 49) and blocks (12 to 9), while both teams gave away 23 points in errors.
Canada will face Japan on September 15 at 2:00 PM (local time).
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