Their run came to an end in the quarter-finals, but not before Canada knocked off some of the world’s top teams.
The Canadian men’s volleyball team lost to Russia earlier this week at the Rio Olympic Games, ending their quest for the gold medal.
The team featured Langley’s Dan Jansen vanDoorn and Rudy Verhoeff, as well as Abbotsford’s Steve Marshall. All three are former members of the Trinity Western Spartans volleyball program.
“We had an awesome run by the team. We were disappointed to finish on that note, but really proud of what we accomplished,” Jansen vanDoorn said.
Canada lost 3-0 to the Russians, who are ranked third in the world.
In the preliminary round, Canada did beat both Italy and the United States, who are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
Both those teams are playing in one of the semifinals while Russia faces top-ranked Brazil in the other semifinal.
Canada entered the Olympics ranked 12th in the world and they went 3-2 in the preliminary round.
Jansen vanDoorn said the team had been focused on the tournament over the first dozen days of the Olympics so they haven’t really done much.
“So far we were pretty focused on performing well and that meant managing distractions, so we haven’t done a ton of sightseeing (or) watching other events,” he said.
“But now we have a few days to drink it all in.”
“That said, it’s still been an incredible experience, getting to meet people from every corner of the world,” he added.
“Getting to meet people from every corner of the world, the beauty of the country, the competition, the Brazilian people and culture, and the energy of the Games have been unforgettable.”