US tops Canada 3-1 in Volleyball Men's World C'ship

The United States remained undefeated at the Volleyball Men's World Championship by defeating Canada 3-1 (25-17, 25-14, 21-25, 25-17) at the start of the second-round play in Pool G here.

Matthew Anderson was the dominant player of the match on Friday, winning 20 points on spikes in 24 attempts, while Aaron Russell added 17 points and Maxwell Holt led the US in blocks with four.

After the Americans dominated the early going, much-improved blocking by the Canadians spurred them to a comeback in the third set, reports Efe news.

But Anderson got the US back on track in the fourth set with some unreturnable spiking, and the favoured team rolled to victory.

The US, which won all five of its first-round matches, has two more Pool G games versus Bulgaria and Iran on the weekend.

"It was a great game. Canada is a team that we know pretty well. We watched a bunch of videos, we studied hard and we were really prepared for this match," US player Daniel McDonnell was quoted as saying afterward on the competition's official website.

Next up in second-round action Saturday in Sofia will be Bulgaria, a co-host of the Volleyball Men's World Championship along with Italy.

Bulgaria defeated Iran 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 26-24) on Friday and has the Americans' full respect.

"Tomorrow we'll play against the home team. It's going to be a huge crowd and I think it's going to be difficult for us. We'll rest tonight and we'll see what happens tomorrow," US head coach John Speraw said.

--IANS

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