The first set was dominated by the Canadians, who began to take the lead thanks to two service aces by Danny Demyanenko (9:7). Then came a series of points from the Maple Leafs team (16:10), which controlled the situation until the end. Canada had a clear advantage in attack, scored points with blocks and confidently won against a rather anemic Serbia 25:16.

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In the second game, the Canadian volleyball players quickly took a solid lead (9:4, 12:7). But this time, the Serbs fought back and made up for their defeat in the middle of the set (16:16). However, the end belonged to the North American team. In an important moment, Eric Loeppky scored an ace (21:18), which then ended the match with a set point (24:21). The missing point allowed the Canadians to serve their rivals into the net (25:22).

After a balanced start to the third set (7:7), the Serbs took the lead. Service aces from Aleksandar Atanasijevic (9:11) and Marko Ivovic (10:13) helped. The Canadians equalized, but another ace from Ivovic allowed the Serbs to escape again (18:21). The serve played an important role in this part of the match, as Stephen Maar scored two points from behind the ninth-meter line and Canada made up for the loss. The set was decided by an advantage game, in which the Canadian volleyball players made two costly errors (24:26).

The winning volley gave the Serbs a boost and they began to set the tone for events on the court from the first actions of the next set (1:4, 4:8). Coach Igor Kolaković’s team played more efficiently than their rivals, made fewer mistakes and calmly held their advantage (12:17). Aleksandar Atanasijević scored the result at 19:25 with an effective attack.

The final match of the group stage ended in a tie-break. The first actions of the decisive match were won by the Serbs, but Canada was two points ahead when the change of sides occurred when Danny Demyanenko attacked successfully (8:6). Serbia equalized after Atanasijevic’s ace (11:11) and Marko Ivović won the match ball (12:14). However, the Canadians took advantage of the match. The Serbs had subsequent match points and finally Ivović’s effective attack resulted in their victory (16:18).

Most points: Stephen Maar (28), Eric Loeppky (20), Arthur Szwarc (13), Lucas Van Berkel (10) – Canada; Aleksandar Atanasijević (18), Marko Ivović (16), Miran Kujundzic (14) – Serbia. The Canadians were more effective in attack, they scored better with blocks (8-4), but they made more errors; The Serbians scored more points on serve (7-10).

Canada – Serbia 2:3 (25:16, 25:22, 24:26, 19:25, 16:18)

Canada: Luke Herr, Danny Demyanenko, Stephen Timothy Maar, Lucas Van Berkel, Arthur Szwarc, Eric Loeppky – Justin Lui (libero) and Nicholas Hoag, Brodie Hofer, Fynnian McCarthy. Coach: Tuomas Collection.
Serbia: Petar Krsmanović, Marko Ivović, Miran Kujundzic, Aleksandar Atanasijević, Marko Podrascanin, Vuk Todorović – Milorad Kapur (libero) and Pavle Perić, Drazen Luburić, Nikola Jovović, Aleksandar Nedeljković. Coach: Igor Kolakovic.

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