Canadian volleyballers have Olympic spot on the line

EDMONTON - Twenty-four years after their last appearance, the time may finally be right for Canada's men's volleyball team to earn their return to the Olympics.

Canada, ranked 10th in the world, takes on Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba in a round-robin tournament this weekend to decide one spot on offer for the Rio Games. As the top-ranked team in the tournament and playing on home court, the fates may finally be aligning for a Canadian team that's been closing in on the best in the world over the past few years.

Canada's been a regular on the World League circuit and won a bronze medal at the Pan Am games in Toronto last year.

"We've been doing well in other tournaments so it's time to make the jump as a group," said veteran libero Dan Lewis, who turns 40 this year and is the oldest player on the team.

Four years ago, Canada came agonizingly close to qualifying for the London Olympics, losing a decisive match to the United States at a U.S.-hosted tournament.

This time around the Americans have already qualified for the Olympics by virtue of their win at the World Cup last year (Canada finished seventh), and though not winning this tournament wouldn't be the end of the line for Canada, they will not get a better chance.

“This is a really important time,” said Head Coach Glenn Hoag. “We know these teams fairly well and we’re at home in front of a home crowd so it is a great opportunity. It’s not the only one but it’s a great one.”

Canada will be without star player Gavin Schmitt, but with Hoag having strengthened the team's depth over the past few years they feel they have the pieces to make up for his absence. Schmitt will be undergoing an operation on his leg to fix a stress fracture and the hope is he would be ready for Rio should Canada qualify. The team has been bolstered by the return of veteran Dallas Soonias who has been out for about a year after getting some cartilage reconstructed on his right knee.

“I’m just thinking about the game but over the course of the last couple days training with these guys, I’ve realized how tight the group is,” said Soonias. “It’s 14 guys and not one person that will win these games for us anymore. That’s just how (Hoag) has constructed it over the last nine years or so. He’s been building a program. He’s not really building a team that’s three guys that we have to have.”

Canada plays Mexico (ranked 24th in the world) on Friday evening and follows that up with a match against Puerto Rico (22nd) on Saturday afternoon, before concluding the round-robin against 15th-ranked Cuba on Sunday evening.

The winner goes to Rio while the second- and third-place teams go to an international qualifying tournament later this year.