June 30 : Canada forced a tie-break set but could not keep its momentum going the distance against a rested Italy today at Volleyball Nations League in Bangkok, Thailand. The final score was Canada 2 Italy 3 (25-22, 23-25, 14-25, 26-24, 10-15).
Italy, who won the VNL women’s tournament in 2022, was playing after a day off, while Canada was on the heels of the team’s 3-2 win over Brazil on Thursday. Despite the challenge, Canada did not concede easily to the Italian side.
“I think there are a lot of positives to take from today. While the result is not what we are wanted we were able to come back today less than 24 hours after the high of beating World #1 and push another top-four team to five sets,” said head coach Shannon Winzer. “We were not as clean as yesterday, but there continues to be lots to build on.”
Yesterday, Canada was a blocking force against Brazil, but today it was Italy’s advantage (10-17) in block points. Italy also led in attack (64-53), and Canada led in service points (7-6). Alexa Gray was again top scorer for Canada with 18 points.
Alice Degradi and Francesca Villani each contributed 21 points for the winning team.
Both teams were pushing for a spot in the quarterfinals, with Italy now moving up the leaderboard with two matches to go. Canada has one more match versus Netherlands on Saturday.
All teams are vying for a spot in the quarterfinals (top 8):
https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/vnl-2023/standings/women/
Week 3 Results (Thailand):
Croatia v. Canada 0-3 (21-25, 21-25, 26-28)
Brazil v. Canada 2-3 (30-28, 22-25, 23-25, 25-21,15-17)
Canada v. Italy 2-3 (25-22, 23-25, 14-25, 26-24, 10-15).
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 3-2 (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
jskender@volleyball.ca
