Canada Stopped by Yant's 25 Points… Cuba Takes the One Direct North American Volleyball Berth for the LA Olympics
Cuba beat Canada 3-1 to secure the North American direct berth in men's volleyball at the LA Olympics. Canada, which includes Korea Electric Power Corporation's Wallace Vernon, fell in the final.
Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.
Three-Line Summary
- On September 19 in the final in Moncton, Cuba defeated Canada 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22).
- The top scorer in the final was Cuba's Marlon Yant with 25 points; for Canada, Stephen Maar scored 22 points and Eric Loeppky 14.
- Korea Electric Power's Vernon scored 13 points in the previous day's semifinal against Mexico, second on his team.
25 points. That is the number Cuban outside hitter Marlon Yant piled up in one match. It was the most by any player on either team. In the Olympic regional qualifier final that ended in Moncton, Canada, on September 19 local time, Canada, playing at home, lost to Cuba 1-3. Cuba took one direct North American berth in men's volleyball at the 2028 LA Olympics. Canada is the team of Korea Electric Power's main scorer, Vernon.
Canada, Runner-Up at the Continental Championship, Goes from a 3-0 Semifinal Win on the 18th to a 1-3 Final Loss on the 19th
This time in Moncton, the Continental Championship and the Olympic regional qualifier were held back to back. According to the FIVB on September 17, the final standings at the Continental Championship were the United States first, Canada second and Cuba third. The fact that Canada finished above Cuba at the Continental Championship and the result that Cuba took the direct berth are both true at the same time, because they are results of different tournaments.
The FIVB reported that this regional qualifier was held over two days, September 18-19, with four teams, Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, competing for just 1 berth. Canada got off to a good start. Volleyball Canada reported that in the semifinal on the 18th, Canada overwhelmed Mexico 25-21, 25-18, 25-13, without dropping a single set.
The final came a day later. Volleyball Canada announced that the official scheduled time was 19:00 Moncton local time on September 19, which was 7 a.m. on September 20 Korean time. The set scores, from Cuba's perspective, were 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22. The combined point difference across the four sets was only 7 points (98-91).
Yant's 25 Points vs. Maar's 22: Comparing Scoring in the Final
NORCECA official results and The Canadian Press reported that Yant led both teams in scoring with 25 points, while for Canada, Stephen Maar recorded 22 points and Eric Loeppky 14.
Vernon's individual scoring and number of sets played in the final could not be confirmed in the body of the official results. What has been confirmed is his semifinal record from the previous day. Against Mexico, he scored 13 points, second on the team behind Loeppky's 17, according to Volleyball Canada. After the final, Cuban head coach Jesús Cruz López told NORCECA, "Now we have our ticket to Los Angeles."
Canada's Remaining Paths to the LA Olympics, and Vernon's $550,000 Salary
This loss does not mean Canada's final elimination from the Olympics. Under the LA28 qualification system confirmed by the FIVB in December 2025, paths remain: berths for the top 3 teams not yet qualified from the 2027 World Championship, and for the top 3 teams not yet qualified in the world rankings after the 2028 VNL qualification. After the loss, Canadian head coach Dan Lewis said, "I'm really proud of the players," and that they must reflect on the lessons learned.
Newsis and Sports Kyunghyang reported on May 10 that Korea Electric Power re-signed Vernon, and that his salary for the 2026-2027 season is 550,000 US dollars, the standard for re-signed foreign players. In his debut 2025-2026 season, he was the top scorer with 862 points.
| Rank | Player | Points | Team (that season) | Gap to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vernon | 862 points | Korea Electric Power | — |
| 2 | Andres Villena | 829 points | KB Insurance | 33 points |
| 3 | Rafael Araujo | 809 points | Woori Card | 53 points |
| 4 | Leo | 758 points | Hyundai Capital | 104 points |
The gap to second-place Andres Villena was 33 points, or 3.8% (33÷862) of 862 points. The domestic records and salary figures are based on media reports relaying KOVO announcements, not on the original KOVO source, and tournament prize money and any bonus for this regional qualifier could not be confirmed. What Canada missed out on at home was one direct berth to the LA Olympics.
Related Official Websites
- International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) — Official website of the International Volleyball Federation
- Volleyball Canada Official Tournament Guide — Official information page for this tournament
- Volleyball World Cuba-Canada Final Match Page — Final schedule page that was still marked 'Upcoming' at the time of checking
- Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) — Official website of the Korea Volleyball Federation
Featured image · File photo · Not an on-site photo of the match in this article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Ali Entezari), CC BY 4.0
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