By Toby White
The Canadian Men’s Volleyball team, lead by Dinos coach Greg Ryan, swept the Netherlands on Thu., Aug. 21 by three sets to none in their opening game of the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu, South Korea.
A shaky start left the Candians down 0-8, but the team surged ahead to win the first set 25-20. The second set remained tight as the Canucks were down 23-24 until the University of Calgary Dinos’ Sean Kendall was substituted in. He quickly scored for the Canadians.
A failed attempt to block a shot from the University of Manitoba’s Timothy Cooper landed the Canadians the win. Cooper grabbed 12 kills in the game.
"We did come out slow," admitted Cooper. "We won today with some tough serving and great work up the middle that opened up the outside for us."
The third set remained close until a 20-20 tie when the Netherlands let their guard down and the Candians got the best of them. Dalhousie University’s Tim Wiley fired home the kill to win the match 25-21 giving the Canadians their sweep.
The Canadian team only had a matter of days to prepare for action at the Universiade, but coach Ryan was pleased with the result.
"This win is a real confidence builder", Ryan exclaimed. "It’s also a tribute to the talent and poise of this group who made some great decisions down the stretch in all three sets."
Ryan will lead the men to their next match against the Americans on August 22.The Americans captured gold at the 2001 Universiade in China.