Canada gave their home fans a night to remember in Ottawa, stunning reigning Olympic champions France 3-1 in one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 Volleyball Nations League.
After suffering a five-set loss to Germany in their opening match, the Canadians responded with an impressive performance to overcome the gold medalists from Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 by scores of 25-20, 25-18, 21-25, 27-25.
The victory improves Canada’s record to 1-1 and boosts the team up the standings, while France drops to 1-1 after opening the tournament with a dramatic win over world champions Italy.
Canada’s success was built on a dominant display at the net. The hosts recorded 15 blocks compared to France’s seven. Opposite Xander Ketrzynski led all scorers with 20 points, while Eric Loeppky added 18 and Stephen Maar contributed 12. For France, Stephen Boyer finished with 19 points and Mathis Henno added 16.
In other matches, Italy bounced back from its opening defeat to France with a 3-1 victory over Germany. Alessandro Bovolenta led the Italians with 17 points.
In Linyi, Ukraine secured first win by defeating hosts China 3-1 behind a 21-point performance from Vasyl Tupchii.
Slovenia also made headlines after stunning defending VNL champions Poland in a five-set thriller, powered by an outstanding 37-point display from Nik Mujanovic.
In Brasilia, Bulgaria recovered from opening-day loss by sweeping Iran in straight sets, while hosts Brazil defeated Belgium 3-1 to move to the top of the standings after two days of competition.
Thursday’s Results
- Canada def. France 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 21-25, 27-25)
- Italy def. Germany 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 33-31)
- Ukraine def. China 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22)
- Slovenia def. Poland 3-2 (27-25, 23-25, 26-24, 21-25, 19-17)
- Bulgaria def. Iran 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-21)
- Brazil def. Belgium 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-15, 25-20)