Winnipeg In front of a crowd of about 900 enthusiastic fans, Team Canada
defeated Denmark in four sets after a shaky start in the first. Scores
were 22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25 -23.
After being up by seven points at one point in the first set, Team Canada
let Denmark slide back into the game, as they rallied back in spurts to
overcome their early deficit and win the first set. However that did not
stunt Team Canada¹s composure as they followed up the first set with three
lopsided wining sets.
"Our players got a bit too confident after the big lead in the first set
and lost focus," stated Team Canada Head Coach Stelio DeRocco. "After
that they kept there composure, and played disciplined volleyball again
which lead to three very well played sets. Our middle players were very
big for us at the net today, and Sebastien Ruette put in another
outstanding performance which was very promising to see. "
Team Canada was lead by right side hitter Sebastien Ruette for the second
night in a row with 26 points. David Kantor added 14 points including 4
blocks, while Steve Brinkman had 13 points with 5 blocks.
After the upcoming weekend Coach DeRocco will be releasing 3-4 players to
make room for returning veterans Paul Duerden, Murray Grapentine, Jason
Haldane and possibly Terry Martin depending on his injury status.
Team Canada will resume training June 28th and begin their final
preparations for the World Championship Qualifier Tournament which will be
held in Winnipeg July 26th 28th, 2001.
Brandon After a disappointing loss to Denmark this past Monday, Team
Canada bounced back in fine form with a convincing win over Denmark at the
Investors Group Athletic Centre in Winnipeg. Team Canada won in straight
sets with scores of 25-22, 25-22, & 25-17.
Team Canada was lead by Sebastien Ruette who had 21 kills, Andrew Zurawsky
who had 11kills, and Steve Brinkman who had 5 blocks.
Team Canada Head Coach Stelio DeRocco was extremely pleased with his teams
performance; "We did some house cleaning these past two days diminishing
errors for ourselves. We were serving more effectively tonight which was
key in creating more opportunities for big blocks. Our overall defense
was a lot better and as a team we played much more disciplined."
Team Captain Scott Koskie was impressed with the teams aggressive play and
ability to stay focused throughout the match. "Our guys stuck to our game
plan and played a very disciplined focused match. Everyone who came onto
the floor tonight played aggressive but disciplined, and it showed in our
blocking and attacking."
Team Canada plays Denmark in the third and final match of the series
tomorrow evening at 7:30pm in the Investors Group Athletic Centre.
Brandon In front of a packed gym of about 600 at Brandon University,
Team Denmark upset Team Canada in the opening match of a three game
exhibition series in Manitoba. Scores were 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 18-25 &
18-16.
Despite a heroic performance from Team Canada setter Doug Bruce who had 7
blocks and 3 service aces for 10 points, Team Canada was unable to stay
consistent through out the match.
"We are facing a period of many tangibles (player that is hitting but not
passing, blocking but not serving), where consistency is hard to come by
for us at this moment," stated Team Canada Head Coach Stelio DeRocco. "We
need to create a constancy of purpose towards improvement and end the
practice of giving away easy points. Considering that we were able to get
back in to the game after being down 2-1 in sets, and move ahead 10-7 in
the 5th is an indication of our abilities. However we create and then
compromise our situation by not being able to get into a flow. We need to
do a little house keeping clean up, eliminate errors and we will be
competitive."
Team Canada will face Denmark next this Wednesday, June 20th, and Thursday
June 21st, at 7:30pm in Winnipeg at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.
Winnipeg With thoughts of the World Championship Qualifier Tournament
only six weeks away, Team Canada is beginning to focus on their game play
preparation. To help with this, Team Canada has invited Team Denmark for
a week long stay of scrimmages and three official matches.
Team Denmark who arrived in Winnipeg late last night is also focused on
their game play preparation with their World Championship Qualifier taking
place in Europe later in July. What does this result in? Some world
class volleyball coming up this week with two tough international teams
trying to iron out their creases for their biggest competitions of the
year.
Team Denmark is very excited about their up coming week here in Winnipeg,
"We have brought the twelve best players in our country here to train
against Canada, and are very excited about this opportunity because we
realize that Canada is one of the best up and coming teams in the world,"
said Team Denmark Head Coach Mikael Trolle.
With Team Canada now at about 70% of it¹s final roster (four more
veterans are slated to re-join the team July 1st) , Head Coach Stelio
DeRocco is looking forward to some strong competition from Denmark this
week, "Denmark has some very good players on their roster and will be a
great team to help us prepare for the qualifier. It is essential
competition for us and the level of play will be intense."
After the Denmark Tour, DeRocco will be making the final four cuts on the
team to make room for the returning veterans.
Feature matches for the week are slated for July 18th in Brandon at
7:00pm, and July 20th and 21st in Winnipeg at the Investors Group Athletic
Centre at 7:30pm. A practice schedule for the week is attached.
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