16-Nov, start time: 15:00, end time: 16:16 - Attendance: 7,900

CAN	0	17	17	17	-	-	51
USA	3	25	25	25	-	-	75

Match Description:

USA wins neighbourly battle
NORCECA Continental champions USA won the battle of the America's with a well-worked straight sets victory over Canada in their opening 2003 Men's World Cup match in the Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan

USA, ranked 13 in the world, came out on top in an intense battle, especially at the net where both sides fought their hardest to gain some ascendancy. However, in the end it was the American's clinical finishing, which saw them claim the victory.

Through the precision spiking from Clayton Stanley and Ryan Millar USA got off to the best start, claiming the first set 25-17 and giving Hall of Fame coach Doug Beal little to complain about at the break.

The introduction of Jason Haldane at the start of the second set gave Canada, ranked 20th in the world, some much needed impetus and they started to challenge the superiority of their neighbours but it wasn't long before USA opened up a six-point lead at 16-10 with captain Lloyd Ball and wing spiker William Priddy starting to call the shots and before long they sealed the second set by the same margin as the first.

Murray Grapentine tried his best to lead Canada back into the match on the back of some courageous blocking in the third set but USA were just a little stronger, repeating their win (3-1) over Canada in the NORCECA Continental championship in September by marching to victory in the third set 25-17.

Comments:

BEAL, Douglas (USA Head Coach)
I am happy to win today's match. We respect the Canada team and know them well and they know us as well. It was not an easy match for us. I am sure that the Canada team will record many wins as the tournament goes on. We played with a good rhythm today. The first match is always difficult because of the new environment. We are pleased to win without losing any set since this tournament will be a close tournament.

BALL, Lloy (USA Captain)
I am very pleased the way the team played today. It was very beneficial for us, because we played against the team we know well. We just played against them a few weeks ago. Our rhythm was good for the first match. 3-0 against a good team like the Canada team is a benefit.

DEROCCO, Stelio (CAN Head Coach)
No team had time to prepare for this tournament. Though we played well in NORCECA Championships, we struggled today. We could not pass the ball well. We are missing a left side player, and we tried hard but were not capable of passing the ball.

KOSKIE, Scott (CAN Captain)
It is difficult to play well with the long travel, short preparation and playing at a new, big facility. It was important to get the rhythm, but we did not play as well as we hoped. USA found their rhythm first and was a good team. We hope we can play well and find the rhythm from tomorrow.

Official Result:

Match statistics (P-2) - PDF