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Rio de Janeiro • Once match point was settled and a large group of fans celebrated with the Canadians who had just stunningly swept the U.S. men's volleyball team Sunday, Taylor Sander walked to the bench and took a seat on the end of the row.

The former BYU star sat for a bit, presumably in a state of disbelief, after the Americans had just seen their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro fall so unpredictably flat.

The U.S., a young team still carrying gold-medal aspirations, was outplayed by a group of Canadians representing their country in a Summer Games for the first time in 24 years. Inside the storied Marcanãzinho volleyball arena Sunday night, the Canadians convincingly defeated a mistake-prone Team USA 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-23) with the support of a jam-packed crowd.

"We didn't play the way we wanted to, for sure," Sander said afterward. "I don't know what it was."

Errors were aplenty. Kills weren't effective. Blocks at the net weren't up to par. At least as evidenced against the regional rival. The Canadians were simply better in every aspect of the game. A U.S. team featuring eight first-time Olympians often looked rattled. Mistake after mistake spoiled whatever chance they had in the crunch time of each set. Five of the seven U.S. starters took the floor with zero previous Olympic experience.

"This is a tournament where I had a hunch that with the group that we have, where we're at right now, we were going to have to weather some battles and grow throughout the course of the tournament," U.S. coach John Speraw said. "We have to learn and grow a little more quickly."

The U.S. led for much of the do-or-die third set, but just as they did all night, the Canadians made timely runs. The last one carried them to their first Olympic victory since the 1992 Games in Barcelona.

Despite jumping out to a 10-6 lead, the U.S. labored as the second set went on. Canada responded with blocks at the net throughout. The Canadian wall stood tall late as the Americans tried to inch their way back into it, but Matt Anderson's spike attempt was quelled to put Canada within a point of winning.

A soft, well-placed serve caught the U.S. off guard, and Reid Priddy, who came on to replace Sander midway through the second set, couldn't get to the ball. The Canadians closed the second set on a 10-2 run and had eight blocks in the set to Team USA's one.

In the first set, the U.S. gave up a whopping 15 points on errors.

"You hope it's just nerves," said Olympic vet and team captain David Lee.

Sander, the 24-year-old former BYU All-American from Huntington Beach, Calif., owned his struggles. He said his decision-making and kill attempts weren't on the level he's used to performing. The Olympics, though, are obviously a much different beast. Asked to describe his experience so far in Rio, Sander said the spectacle is indeed "a lot bigger than I thought it was."

The former Cougar's first spike attempt of the match sailed well wide. His first serve was out of play. His third spike attempt also went wide, but carried with it enough force to dislodge one of the colorful court side panels.

"Don't think about it too much," Sander said reflecting on his first match as an Olympian. "Yeah, I've played this sport for a long time, so I've had bad games before. It's the first game in the Olympics, so it doesn't feel great."

Speraw said he'd plan on having a one-on-one chat with one of his Olympic rookies ahead of the Team USA's next match — Tuesday against Italy — to discuss how to get him back on track.

The Americans are now under the microscope in Pool A play. The Italians eliminated the U.S. in the 2012 Games in London, and looming Thursday is a late night match against hosts Brazil; a test guaranteed to present more issues than what Canada did on paper entering Sunday.

"We're just going to have to weather some adversity and he's going to have to go through this and learn from it," Speraw said of Sander. "I expect that he'll come back and be much better."

ckamrani@sltrib.com Twitter: @chriskamrani —

Volleyball debacle

• Canada def. USA 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-23)

• Former BYU star Taylor Sander started, making his Olympic debut

• Five of Team USA's seven starters made their Olympic debuts Sunday

• Opposite hitter Matt Anderson led all scorers with 15 points and 13 kills and two blocks

• The U.S. and Canada tied in kills 36-36

• In the first set, the U.S. gave up 15 points on errors