Canada's Olympic volleyball hopes hinge on final tournament

With its final chance of breaking an Olympic drought dating back to 1992 at hand, Canada's men's volleyball is more than happy to welcome back its most potent weapon.

Canada opens a last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament on Friday in Tokyo and will be bolstered by the return of opposite hitter Gavin Schmitt, who underwent surgery in January to fix a stress fracture problem by having a rod inserted into his right leg.

The Grande Prairie, Alta., native made the tough choice to skip January's Olympic qualifier in Edmonton. It was better to err on the side of caution instead of risking further injury.

"If there wasn't the risk of having the leg snap, which is a risk you run when you have this fracture and decide to play on it, then I think I would have been there," Schmitt told CBCSports.ca on Monday. "It certainly wasn't an issue of not being able to tolerate pain or anything, but if you fall wrong once, you could snap your leg and it's a career-ending injury and not just a four-month rehab."

In his absence, Canada came second to Cuba in the four-team tournament, with the Cubans booking their ticket to Rio. Canada, meanwhile, had its road extended through Tokyo in an eight-team tournament that also serves as the Asian Olympic qualifier.

In September of 2013, Schmitt had a similar operation on his left leg, so he knew what the rehabilitation process would involve.

"It was a lot of work and it was really tough to get through the second rehab, especially considering I had the time from where I wanted to get it down in three months so it was a lot of work," said Schmitt. "It's amazing to have it all kind of come together very well and being present and here with the guys at a chance at a qualifier."

Schmitt boosts Canada's attack

Schmitt's return boosts a Canadian attack that's already strong at the net, but admittedly isn't as strong at the serving line.

Standing just a few inches short of seven-feet tall, Schmitt brings overwhelming power on the right side of the attack and the serving line to go along with a dominating defensive presence at the net. His return to fitness will draw opponents' attention, freeing up his teammates.

"It's really important because he's such a big asset to our game," said head coach Glenn Hoag. "Serving is not necessarily our strongest point so Gavin and Nick [Hoag] bring a lot in that aspect. Now we have good balance on attack with Nick, Gavin, Steve Marshall, Toon van Lankvelt and Gord Perrin so I think everybody's healthy. We're going to come out swinging and we're in a much better place than at Christmas."

Four Olympic spots are available with one reserved for the top Asian finisher in the competition. The other teams are from Asia, South America and Europe. Canada must finish in the top 3 to guarantee an Olympic berth. 

Canada, ranked No. 10 in the world, opens against the top-two ranked teams in the tournament: Poland, at No. 2, is the opener on Friday, with No. 8 Iran set for Saturday.

Canadian roster

• TJ Sanders, London, Ont.
• Gordon Perrin, Creston, B.C.
• Dan Lewis, Oakville, Ont.
• Nicholas Hoag, Sherbrooke, Que.
• Rudy Verhoeff, Calgary, Alta.
• Justin Duff, Winnipeg, Man.
• Adam Simac, Ottawa, Ont.
• Toon Van Lankvelt, Rivers, Man.
• Daniel Jansen Van Doorn, Langley, B.C.
• Gavin Schmitt, Saskatoon, Sask.
• Graham Vigrass, Calgary, Atla.
• Blair Bann, Edmonton, Atla.
• Jay Blankenau, Sherwood Park, Alta.
• Steven Marshall, Abbotsford, B.C.