2016 Review: Canada marches to title and joins world elite

Lausanne, Switzerland, December 19, 2016 – Victory in Group 2 of the FIVB Volleyball World League is a very special kind of springboard. France showed this in 2015 when, after winning the second tier, they promptly triumphed in the final round of the annual showdown between the best national volleyball teams in the world. Then, just months after double success in the FIVB World League, France also won the European Championship for the first time ever. This year, it was Canada who marched to victory in Group 2. A good month after winning promotion to the pinnacle of the FIVB World League for 2017, Canada then produced an outstanding performance at the Rio Summer Games – on their first appearance at the Olympics for 24 years.After victories over runners-up Italy and eventual bronze medallists USA, Canada surprisingly made it out of arguably the toughest pool at the Olympics, Group A – unlike France, incidentally. Only in the quarterfinals were the Canadians eventually stopped by the winners of the London Olympics, Russia. “We laid the foundations for our strong appearance at the Olympics in the FIVB World League,” said national coach Glenn Hoag.Hoag was honoured for his outstanding coaching with an additional award.Under Hoag’s guidance, Canada dominated 2016 World League Group 2. In the nine Preliminary Round matches, the Canadians suffered just one defeat – 3-2 to Finland, when they had already achieved qualification …

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