June 27, 2023: Canada’s women’s team kicked off its third phase of Volleyball Nations League with a 3-0 win over Croatia today in Bangkok, Thailand.
Croatia came out determined, gaining a large lead (10-3) partway in the first set, but a composed Canada came back and despite a late charge by their opponents, closed the match in three sets (21-25, 21-25, 26-28).
Coach Shannon Winzer: “It’s great to start off round 3 with a win. We didn’t start as clean as we would’ve liked, and Croatia was playing great defense. We just had to settle into the game plan and remain patient on attack. Coming back from that first set says a lot about our ability to compete when it’s hard.”
Croatia and Canada were almost even in attack points (43-42), but Canada’s (13-6) block and service were difference makers today (4-2). Canada was led by Alexa Gray with 20 points (17 attack kills and 3 blocks). Gray (Calgary, AB) is among the top attackers of the tournament so far.
Canada’s Brie King (Langley, BC), who was leading all tournament setters on the stats board going into today’s match, told VBTV: “Our whole team knows how important this week is. We have really big goals and I think we felt a little bit over excited for it – you could see at the start we were totally not ourselves, but I’m really proud of how we were patient, we settled in and got the job done. … And our block defense was better (today)…
On the final set: “We got a little bit comfortable being up two sets and Croatia battled. .. We all just decided let’s not let this happen and we got the job done.”
This is Canada’s fourth win of the tournament. Canada plays Brazil next (June 29).
Week 3 results (Thailand):
Croatia v. Canada 0-3 (21-25, 21-25, 26-28)
Week 2 Results (Hong Kong)
China v. Canada 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 29-27)
Bulgaria v. Canada 0-3 (15-25, 13-25, 15-25)
Türkiye v Canada 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-20)
Dominican Rep. v Canada 3-0 (22-25, 25-13, 25-17, 23-25, 15-10)
Week 1 Results (Türkiye)
Poland v. Canada 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13)
Canada v. Thailand 0-3 (17-25, 24-26, 21-25)
Canada v. Korea 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-18)
Canada v. Serbia 3-2 (18-25, 28-26, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12)
VNL 2023 is played based on the same competition formula as in 2022, featuring 16 teams per gender. A total of 104 matches per gender will be played across the preliminary and final phases, with every team playing a minimum of 12 matches.
For more on the competition formula:
https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/vnl-2023/competition/formula
Matches are featured on Volleyball World TV and in Canada at www.cbcsports.ca
VNL Women’s Roster Week 3:
3 – Kiera Van Ryk, Surrey, BC
5 – Julia Murmann, Toronto, ON
6 – Jazmine White, Oshawa, ON
7 – Layne Van Buskirk, Windsor, ON
8 – Alicia Ogoms, Winnipeg, MB
9 – Alexa Gray, Calgary, AB
11 – Andrea Mitrovic, Mississauga, ON
13 – Brie King, Langley, BC
14 – Hilary Howe, Calgary, AB
15 – Shaïnah Joseph, Ottawa, ON
16 – Caroline Livingston, Kelowna, BC
17 – Kacey Jost, St. Albert, AB
19 – Emily Maglio, Coquitlam, B.C.
26 – Quinn Pelland, Wanham, AB
Staff:
Shannon Winzer – Head coach
Vincenzo Mallia – Assistant coach
Matt Krueger – Assistant coach
Gabriele Tortorici – Performance analyst
Kevin Valcke and Hilary Mallinger – Physiotherapists
Jennah Paron – Team Coordinator
Robert Hooper – Trainer (Strength & Conditioning)
Roger Friesen – Mental Performance Coach
Photo: VolleyballWorld
Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
Mobile: 613-794-7676
