Canada beats Belgium in FIVB World League Group 1 play

ANTWERP, Belgium – Stephen Maar produced 24 points and 19 spikes as Canada held on to beat Belgium in five sets on Friday in FIVB World League Group 1 play.

Canada came out on top 25-23, 25-13, 24-26, 22-25, 15-10.

Graham Vigrass and Daniel Jansen Vandoorn added 16 points each for the Canadians, who will face France on Saturday.

“This was a hard game and I’m happy with the win,” said Canada coach Stephane Antiga.

Canada won the first set tightly and ran away with the second, but the momentum switched and the Canadians were forced to go the distance.

“We could have won 3-0 but we didn’t,” said Antiga. “In the third and fourth set we made too many mistakes and Belgium started playing better. We played some good defence today. It’s an important win with the focus on reaching the Final Six.”