Last night in Moncton, the Canadian men’s volleyball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to the United States in the championship match of the NORCECA tournament, a biennial event that determines the leading team in North and Central America and the Caribbean. This marks Canada’s third consecutive time finishing with the silver medal.
However, the Canadian men are focused on a larger goal. While finishing as runners-up in the NORCECA championship, they secured a spot in a qualifying tournament set for this Friday and Saturday in Moncton, which will determine one of the berths for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The four-team, single-elimination qualifier kicks off on Friday, with Canada competing against Mexico at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by Cuba taking on the Dominican Republic at 6 p.m. ET. The winners will clash for the Olympic spot on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. All matches will be broadcast live on CBC Gem and the CBC Sports website.
The United States, crowned NORCECA champions and currently ranked fourth globally behind Poland, reigning world champion Italy, and Russia, is not participating in the Olympic qualifier as the host nation receives an automatic entry into the L.A. Games.
With a world ranking of 13th, the Canadians are seen as favorites in the tournament. Enjoying the advantage of playing at home, they also hold the highest ranking among the participating teams—Cuba ranks 16th, Mexico 23rd, and the Dominican Republic 45th. Canada previously defeated Mexico in straight sets during the group stage and followed it up by doing the same against Cuba in the semifinals.
This position is a significant turnaround for the Canadian men after a challenging Nations League season this summer, where they ended with a disappointing 1-11 record, placing second-last among the 18 competing nations and subsequently being relegated from the league for the upcoming year.
Coach Dan Lewis and his squad appear to have regained their momentum. By securing a top-three finish at the NORCECA championship, they have also qualified for next year’s Volleyball World Cup in Poland. “I’m so bloody proud of them,” Lewis expressed after last night’s defeat to the U.S. “They fight so hard and they never, ever stop. They don’t quit, they don’t give up, they continue to search for solutions.”
Meanwhile, the outlook is also bright for the Canadian women’s team, which has achieved a historic high ranking of eighth in the world. In July, they reached the knockout stage of the Nations League for the first time before being eliminated by the current No. 3 team, Turkey, in the quarterfinals. A month later in the Dominican Republic, the Canadian women triumphed over the United States to win their first NORCECA championship and subsequently defeated the host nation in the Olympic qualifier final to secure their first Olympic berth since 1996. Canada will also participate in next year’s women’s World Cup, which they are co-hosting with the United States.
Historically, the Olympics have not been favorable for Canada’s volleyball teams. The men’s team lost all three matches in the group stage at the 2024 Paris Games and has yet to win a knockout-stage match in six Olympic appearances. The women have never progressed past the initial rounds, holding a combined 1-10 record across three Olympic tournaments.
Nonetheless, with the women’s team already qualified for L.A. and the men on the verge of doing so, there has never been a better time to support Canadian volleyball.