Joshua Binstock and Sam Schachter were dialed in from start to finish as they disposed of Puerto Rico in straight sets (21-11, 21-12) to capture the gold medal. PHOTO by: Ryan Perry
To say that team Canada 2 was zoned in for its gold medal match is an understatement. Joshua Binstock and his partner Sam Schachter were energized by the Canadian crowd and maximized their opportunities with key blocks and killer smashes.
“The wind is a real true test of beach volleyball. Usually on this NORCECA tour the ground is rock hard, it’s indoors, it’s not that windy and this is real beach volleyball,” said Binstock moments after capturing gold.
The Canadians won the first set 21-11, fittingly with a service ace on set point. In the second set the Puerto Ricans were starting to show their frustrations and just could not mount the comeback, losing 21-12.
“Those guys are amazing, they beat us before, they’re great in the wind. I just think we had the momentum going. We’ve been in their situation where you can’t get anything going, so we were just trying to ride the momentum as long as possible,” added Binstock.
The duo grabbed key tour points in order to qualify for the Pan American games in Toronto next summer.
In the bronze medal game, CANADA 1 lost its first set, but won the last two against USA 1 to reach the podium.
A much tougher match for Canada 1 duo Melissa Humana and Taylor Pischke. They fall in straight sets (21-8, 26-24) to the United States in the women’s gold medal game. PHOTO by: Ryan Perry
After not dropping a set the entire tournament, CANADA 1 looked completely out of sync in the early going as they were looking to defend their title against USA 1.
“We didn’t adjust to the wind as early as we should have; they started off with a good game plan. It took us the whole first set to get a grasp with it and that was our fault.
Canada dropped the first set 21-8, but found its legs in the second. With the score tied at 18, it looked as though they would force a third, but more key mistakes allowed the Americans to seal the deal.
“We should have had a better game plan with the wind. We got a little bit stronger in the second set, but we let that slip away and it was a good learning experience.
Close to 1500 people took in the beach volleyball playoffs at the North Bay waterfront.
