Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 13, 2016 - If Mexico are optimistic, they can say they have only lost to Canada once in four meetings in FIVB competitions, but their one and only victory came in 1977.
In more recent times, Canada defeated Mexico 3-0 in a 2008 World Championship qualifier, the 2011 NORCECA Championship and the 2014 World Championship.
Canada are ranked No. 12 in the world while Mexico are 26.
The reality is that Mexico have lost all three of their matches to date in Rio with their highlight being the set they took off Brazil in the first match. Further losses to France (3-0) and Italy (3-0) shoved them to the bottom of the standings.
Canada stunned the United States 3-0 in their first match and also took a set off Brazil, but they were well-beaten by France in their third match.
Nicholas Hoag leads Canada’s scorers with 39 points, while Mexico’s top scorer is Daniel Vargas with 25.
Defensively, Canada’s top four blockers appear in the charts before the top Mexican blocker – Samuel Cordova – at No. 46. However, Mexico libero Jesus Rangel is ranked in the Top 10 diggers, while Canada’s top man is No. 13, John Gordon Perrin.
Canada will finish off the first round with a match against Italy, while Mexico will face USA.