XI'AN, China, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Poland and Canada grabbed the two tickets to the 2024 Olympic Games as Group C action of the FIVB Olympic men's volleyball qualifiers ended here on Sunday.
Facing winless Mexico on the last matchday of the tournament, Canada started well by storming into a 7-3 lead. After that, Canada got the match under control before securing the first set 25-21.
Eric Loeppky, who registered a game-high 16 points, showed outstanding service and spiking skills in the second set and helped Canada take the second set 25-20.
In the third set, Canada kept up their momentum and sealed the final set 25-15 for a 3-0 win.
"We did a lot of preparation in order to qualify and we finally made it," said Stephen Maar, Canada's outside hitter.
Canada thus finished second after undefeated Poland with a 5-2 win-loss record.
Poland, who secured an Olympic slot prior to the last round, notched up their seventh consecutive win against China to finish top of the group.
Poland rotated their squad and tested new attacking formations, but still managed to go past China 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 25-9, 16-14).
Both Kamil Semeniuk and Tomasz Fornal finished with 21 points for Poland, while Zhang Guanhua led China on 18 points.
The hosts finished seventh with only one win, ahead of bottom side Mexico, who suffered seven straight defeats.
Elsewhere, Argentina swept past the Netherlands 3-0 (25-17, 27-25, 25-22), while Bulgaria claimed a tense 3-2 win over Belgium (25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-13).
Argentina finished the tournament on five wins and two defeats to place third after Poland and Canada.
Belgium ranked fourth, with Bulgaria in fifth place and the Netherlands sixth. Enditem
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