Canada sends Japan packing early, seals Round of 16 berth in FIVB Men’s World Championship

Team Canada sent Japan out the door early and sealed their place in the Round of 16 of the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship, winning their Pool G matchup, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Monday.

Canada, who also won its opening game against Libya, join Turkiye at the top of their pool and effectively ousted Ryujin Nippon and the Libyans with one match day to spare.

Led by Sharone Vernon-Evans and Nicholas Hoag, Canada doused crowd favorite Japan even as they went toe-to-toe with the North Americans in the second and third sets.

In set 3, Hoag powered Canada in a back-and-forth affair, including a booming spike that gave them the two-point advantage, 16-14, midway through.

Hoag’s play kickstarted an overall 6-1 run that gave Canada enough breathing room to finish off their Asian opponents. The win came even as Japan cut the lead to just one late, 21-22, after an attack from Tatsunori Otsuka.

But Isaac Heslinga bailed out his team twice to reach match point, 24-22. Vernon-Evans finished the job with a check ball spike.

Vernon-Evans and Hoag paced Canada in the resounding victory with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Canada’s win over Ryujin Nippon handed the Japanese only their second first round exit in Worlds in their 17 appearances.

Ran Takahashi top scored for Japan in the loss with 11 points.

Canada and Turkiye will dispute first place in the group in their last game of the preliminary phase.

Meanwhile, Ryujin Nippon face world no. 75 Libya as they look to avoid a winless run in the World Championship.

Both teams play again on Wednesday, September 17, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.

Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.