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Germany extinguishes fire of Canada


OTTAWA, Canada, June 9, 2018 - Simon Hirsch led the way for Germany as they withstood a dramatic Canadian comeback to continue their VNL resurgence with a 3-1 win (25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 25-19).

 

The Germans, who were riding a wave of confidence having dispatched the USA brilliantly on Friday night, continued their rich vein of form with a powerhouse display to disappoint a vibrant Ottawa crowd who came to cheer on their heroes but left disappointed despite a courageous attempt to wipe out a terrible start which saw them lose the first two sets. 

 

Hirsch was a constant menace, bagging 16 spikes and an ace and together with solid shows from Christian Fromm (10 points) and David Sossenheimer (12 points), Andrea Giani’s side head into tomorrow’s clash with Australia aiming for a clean sweep of wins in week three to keep their hopes of reaching the finals very much alive. 

 

It’s not as if Canada were shorn of confidence - the previous night’s triumph over Australia was the first time they’ve notched four successive wins at world level since the 2015/16 season. 

 

Yet there were simply too many errors - 25 in all - from the home team and although Stephane Antiga’s men battled valiantly when all looked lost, the in-form Germans held firm to record another deserved win. 

 

Stephen Marr (17 spikes and one block) once again scored consistently while Bradley Gunter (12 points) and Nicholas Hoag (11 points) also chipped in yet giving their opponents a two set lead was too much to claw back for the Canadians who now go into tomorrow’s North American derby tussle with the US needing a win to keep their hopes of reaching the VNL finals on course.