Center Finian McCarthy, teammate of Bulgarian national team captain Alex Grozdanov at Polish champions Bagdanka Lublin, was Canada's top scorer in their Volleyball Nations League Week 2 match against the USA. McCarthy finished with 13 points, but his efforts were not enough – the Canadians lost 0:3 (23:25, 22:25, 28:30) in Chicago.
Another middle blocker, who will join Grozdanov and McCarthy at Bagdanka next season, Daenan Gyimah, also known asKofi, appeared on the court for Canada. He finished with 5 points (3 in attack, 2 blocks), having been officially announced as a new signing for the Polish club earlier in the week.
Skyler Vargha, a former teammate of Moni Nikolov at collegiate champions Long Beach State, also played for Canada. The outside hitter contributed 6 points (4 in attack, 1 block, and 1 ace), but also failed to turn the tide of the match.
The match was even, with Canada having chances to bring back the intrigue in the third set, but the Americans showed class in key moments.
📊 Match statistics:
Attacks: 41 for both teams
Blocks: Canada 7 – USA 3
Serve: Canada 2 – USA 6
Points from opponent's errors: Canada 23 – USA 30
Total points: Canada 73 – USA 80
📈 Top scorers:
Canada: McCarthy – 13, Young – 8
USA: Garcia – 19, Robinson – 13
The Americans also dominated in defense with 63 digs against 49 for Canada, as well as in reception – 56 against 61.
With this success, the USA solidifies its ambitions for a top finish, while Canada will have to look for its points in the upcoming clashes.
