PONCE, Puerto Rico, August 27, 2026. – Canada defeated the Dominican Republic in straight sets on Thursday at the NORCECA Men’s Final Six at the Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium.
The scores were 25-23, 25-20, 25-22.
Canada advanced to the semifinals, finishing the preliminary round with a 3-2 record. The Canadians will learn their semifinal opponent once the preliminary round concludes. The Dominican Republic finished with a 1-4 record and will play for fifth place.
Arthur Szwarc led Canada with 13 points, followed by Kaden Schmidt with 11 and Trent Cherewaty with 10. For the Dominican Republic, Adrián Figueroa led the offense with 12 points.
In team statistics, Canada held the advantage in attacks (43-36), blocks (10-8), and aces (5-4). Both teams committed 17 errors.
Leading two sets to none, Canada faced another close battle in the third, as the teams remained even down the stretch.
Canada broke a 21-21 tie with two consecutive points, first on an attack by Szwarc from zone two and then on a block against Erisandy Castillo. A quick attack through the middle by Cherewaty put Canada at match point, 24-22, before a Dominican Republic net violation ended the match.
Darian Picklyk #88 – Canada
“It was definitely a tough match. We’ve had some injuries throughout the tournament, so in the end it all came down to our mentality. And regarding the semifinals, we still don’t know who we’re going to play, but I know we’re going to fight until the last point.”
Moisés Ortiz #18 – Dominican Republic
“I feel like our team worked hard. There were moments when our energy and communication dropped, but those are things that can be fixed. Maybe we won’t fix them here, but another competition is coming and we’re already preparing for that.”
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