Canada sweeps Germany in push for Volleyball Nations League men’s quarterfinals

Canada improved its chances of advancing to the quarterfinals of the men’s Volleyball Nations League with a lopsided 3-0 win over Germany on Thursday in Manila, Philippines.

Stephen Maar and Arthur Szwarc each had a game-high 15 points for Canada which won handily with set scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-21.

Moritz Karlitzek led Germany with 13 points.

Canada outscored Germany in attacking (46-31), blocking (8-3) and aces (4-3).

“It was a great and important win — we played very, very well for two and a half sets; especially in attack,” said Canada head coach Tuomas Sammelvuo.

“There’s always something to learn and that’s how we handle moments of the game, such as the last part of the third set [when Germany attempted a comeback], which was a good lesson for us. How to stay focused and push on every rally. But it was great game in attack. Now we recover and get ready for the next game.”

Canada, which has already qualified for the Paris Olympics, sits fifth in the standings halfway through the final week of preliminary-round play. The top three teams at the end of the week advance to the quarterfinals.

The Canadians (6-4) face fourth-place Brazil on Friday at 3 a.m. ET in a match that will be live streamed at CBC Sports, the CBC Sports App and CBC Gem. They complete the preliminary round Saturday against No. 13 Netherlands.

WATCH | Thursday full match replay — Canada vs. Germany:

Canadian roster

• Luke Herr – Winnipeg
• Brett Walsh – Calgary
• Ryley Barnes – Edmonton
• Nicholas Hoag – Sherbrooke, Que.
• Eric Loeppky – Steinbach, Man.
• Stephen Maar – Aurora, Ont.
• Brodie Hofer – Langley, B.C.
• Pearson Eshenko – Banff, Alta.
• Fynn McCarthy – Lake Country, B.C.
• Danny Demyanenko – Toronto
• Lucas Van Berkel – Edmonton
• Xander Ketrzynski – Toronto
• Arthur Szwarc – Toronto
• Justin Lui – Pickering, Ont.
• Reserve: Jordan Schnitzer – Surrey, B.C.
• Reserve: Landon Currie – Coldstream, B.C.