CANADA EARNS THIRD STRAIGHT WIN AT WORLD JUNIORS
 |
VOLLEYBALL
MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011
WORLD JRS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CANADA EARNS THIRD STRAIGHT WIN AT WORLD JUNIORS
NITEROI, Brazil – Tommy Belisle of Quebec City collected 26 points as Canada secured a place in the consolation semifinals on Sunday defeating Tunisia 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23 at the men’s world junior volleyball championships.
Click here to watch a replay of the game.
Team Canada, which features Trinity Western's Brad Kufske (Abbotsford, B.C.), Lucas Van Berkel (Edmonton, Alta.), Branden Schmidt (Winton, Alta.) and Derek Thiessen (Coquitlam, B.C. - although he did not travel to Brazil for the World Junior Championship), will complete the round robin portion of the consolation draw with a 3-0 record for first in its pool. They advance to the 9-12th place playoffs opening Tuesday against Germany. Canada went 0-3 in the opening round robin portion of the tournament last week to drop to the consolation draw.
“It was a good win for us,’’ said Canadian team captain TJ Sanders. ‘’Tunisia made us fight for it at the end."
Belisle earned his points on 23 spikes and three blocks. Bradley Kufske of Abbotsford, B.C., added 14 points on 12 attacks, one block and one ace. Braden McLean of Birch Hills, Sask., had a match-high six blocks for Canada.
I’m very happy that we are on the top of the group,’’ said Canada’s head coach Georges Laplante. ‘’In this tournament there are no easy matches. Tunisia fought in every set for every point. In the third set, they did not want to give us the victory so they fought a little harder.
‘’We gave our best and played with a lot of energy through the match and in the fourth set."
Canada’s men’s national junior volleyball team sorted by province:
Alberta: Tristan Aubry, Edmonton; Jay Olmstead, Edmonton; Lucas VanBerkel, Edmonton; Branden Schmidt, Winton; Jarron Mueller, Calgary.
B.C.: Alex Davis, White Rock; Bradley Kufske, Abbotsford; Derek Thiessen, Coquitlam (did not travel to World Junior Championship).
Manitoba: Brett Wiess, Winnipeg.
Ontario: Tyler (TJ) Sanders, London.
Quebec: Nicholas Hoag, Sherbrooke; Daniel Moreau, Sherbrooke; Tommy Bélisle, Quebec City.
Saskatchewan: Braden McLean, Birch Hills.
Head coach: Georges Laplante, Montreal
Assistant coaches: Greg Barthel, Regina and Brad Poplawski, Edmonton.
-Volleyball Canada-
About Spartan Athletics
Since Trinity Western entered the CIS in 1999, Spartan student-athletes have accumulated a number of significant awards including a CIS Athlete of the Year (BLG) award, four CIS Player of the Year awards, a CIS Elite Eight Academic All-Canadian award, three CIS Rookie of the Year awards, a CIS Libero of the Year award, three CIS community service awards and numerous CIS All-Canadian and Canada West All-Star awards. In twelve years as members of the CIS, the Spartans have won six national titles (women’s soccer in 2004, 2008, 2009 and men’s volleyball in 2006, 2011), 15 CIS championship medals, an individual CIS championship in track and seven Canada West championships.
About TWU
Trinity Western University, in Langley, BC, is a provincially chartered, independent Christian liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies university, enrolling approximately 4000 students. TWU offers 42 undergraduate majors, ranging from biotechnology, education, theatre and music, to psychology, communications and biblical studies. TWU's 16 graduate degree programs include nursing, counselling psychology, marriage and family therapy, business, theology, linguistics, and leadership, and interdisciplinary degrees in English, philosophy and history. TWU holds Canada Research Chairs in Dead Sea Scroll Studies, Developmental Genetics and Disease, and Interpretation, Religion & Culture.
About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year, 1997 to 2010. Comprised of 14 schools, from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, the CWUAA produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games. “cwuaa” on Twitter.
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-one universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.
-TW-
Last Updated: 2011-08-08
Email: Mark.Janzen@twu.ca