BANGKOK, Thailand (CIS) - Canada's men's volleyball team has advanced to the gold medal match at the 24th Summer Universiade. Canada defeated Italy 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-19. 25-21) in the semifinal round. Canada's only medal previously at a Universiade was silver in 1983 in Edmonton.

In the other semifinal, Turkey defeated the USA in three straight sets (25-21, 28-26, 39-37). Canada and Turkey will face off Saturday, Aug. 18 at 1:00 p.m. (local time).

"Beating a team like Italy is a big achievement," said head coach Georges Laplante of the Université de Montréal. "Italy is a powerhouse of volleyball. Our guys stepped up tonight and beat the best at their level."

The first set saw Canada leading 8-5 at the first technical timeout. Italy came back to score six straight points to take the lead for the remainder of the set. Canada found its rhythm in the second, taking an early lead. Up 18-11 at the second technical timeout, Italy would not get closer than six points.

Tied at one set each, Italy led the Canadians 14-11. Canada scored five straight points, three straight kills followed by two huge blocks to take a 17-15 lead. Canada went on another three-point run, widening the gap. Italy called two timeouts, but Canada only let them get within three.

Canada opened the fourth set with a Mark Dodds (Lucky Lake, Sask.) kill and service ace, followed by a kill from Gavin Schmitt (Saskatoon, Sask) of Red Deer College, to lead their opponents 3-0. Italy called an early timeout, but it was Canada ahead 8-5 at the first technical timeout. Canada continued their powerful hitting and blocking, leading 16-3 at the second technical timeout. With Italy playing strong, Canada maintained a two- and three-point lead to finish off the match.

Toontje Van Lankvelt, University of Manitoba

"This whole time we've been talking about playing like a team," said Toontje Van Lankvelt (Rivers, Man.) of the University of Manitoba. "We just wanted to come out and play strong and keep our errors to a minimum, and we did. Once we started rolling, I didn't think there was any chance they could come back, because we started playing really well."

Schmitt had a match-high 19 kills, while Dodds and setter Brock Davidiuk (Edmonton, Alta.) of the University of Alberta chipped in with 11 and six, respectively. Van Lankvelt recorded a match-high five blocks, while his U of M Bisons team mate Nathan Toews (Winnipeg, Man.) had three. Dodds served three aces. Italy's Luca Sirri led his team with 13 kills.

"Our goal at the start of the summer was to medal at the Universiade," said Van Lankvelt. "We believed that we were a good enough team to do it if we came together at the right time. Our goal was definitely to medal and now we have that opportunity. This is big for us, but we still have one big game left. Once we're there [the gold medal game], we want to take full advantage of it."

Notes:
Before this year, Canada had not had a top five finish at the Universiade since 1983, when they won silver in Edmonton.

About the Summer Universiade

The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that takes place every two years, and is second only to the Olympic Games in the number of participating athletes and countries. The Universiade is open to competitors between the ages of 17 and 28 in the year of the Games who are full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.

The 24th Summer Universiade to be held Aug. 8-18, 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand will feature 10,000 participants including 8,000 student-athletes from 141 countries competing in 18 sports.

Canada is sending its largest delegation to Bangkok with 309 participants including 208 student-athletes competing in the following sports: athletics badminton, basketball, diving, golf, judo, rhythmic gymnastics, shooting, soccer, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, and volleyball

For all the info on the 2007 Summer Universiade:

Bangkok 2007 site: www.bangkok2007.com
Team Canada site: www.universitysport.ca/bangkok

-CIS-

Source:

Tera Schneider
Team Canada Sports Information Officer
2007 Summer Universiade

For additional information:

Kimberly Moser
Team Canada Sports Information Manager
2007 Summer Univ