Team ‘not ready to go home yet’

Another giant awaits in the quarter-finals

At sixfoot-10 and 240 pounds, there’s not much that will intimidate Gavin Schmitt.

And it’s a similar tone the Canadian men’s volleyball team will take into the quarter-finals on Wednesday, following a run of results that made them surprising contenders at this Olympic tournament.

Already in group play, the upstart Canadians have knocked off two of the powerhouses of the sport — the U.S. and Italy — and will look for another when they face Russia in their first elimination game.

But if you think Schmitt, a native of Saskatoon, and his teammates are satisfied with merely getting this far, best think again.

“We’ve known for a long time we can compete on a regular basis against the best teams in the world and we’re showing that now,” Schmitt said after a midday practice. “We pushed Brazil and they are the No. 1 team in the world. And we beat the Americans and Italy and they’re all playing at a high level.

“But we’re not ready to go home yet. Our objective is to go home with a medal. We’re not here to be tourists.”

Though perhaps not a surprise to the players on the court, the Olympic tournament has been a big breakthrough for the Canadians. Many on the team weren’t even born in 1992, the last time the country qualified a men’s team for the Games.

All involved recognize the significance of ending the Olympic drought and of seeing a sport turn the corner towards respectability. On Wednesday morning at the Maracanazinho arena, there’s something much bigger on the line.

“There is a sense of pride there, that we got to the Olympics and had some success,” Schmitt said. “But it’s something that will sink in when it’s done. Nobody on this team wants to be happy with what we’ve accomplished so far.

“The next one is the biggest one.”