Canadian women's volleyball team advances to semifinals at NORCECA Continental Championship
Captain Alexa Gray led scoring with 12 points
Canada continued its strong performance at the NORCECA women's volleyball Continental Championship in Quebec City.
The Canadian women defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-23) Wednesday night, marking their second sweep in as many games. They defeated Mexico in their first match on Tuesday.
The win secures Canada (2-0) first place in Group A as the team now bypasses the quarterfinals and heads directly into Saturday's semifnals. The Canadians will have to wait for other results to learn of next opponent.
WATCH: Team Canada defeat Puerto Rico:
Captain Alexa Gray led scoring with 12 points, followed closely by Emily Maglio and Kiera Van Ryk with 11.
Canada led in both attacks (35-29) and block points (14-6), while Puerto Rico had one more ace than Canada 2-1. Canada made the most of Puerto Rico's errors (25-17).
On the Puerto Rican side, it was Neira Ortiz, Elaine Vazquez Rivera, Pilar Marie Victoria, who carried the team in points with eight apiece.
"I thought we played good volleyball tonight, we were pretty clean," said Canada's head coach Shannon Winzer. "I thought [setter] Brie King did a great job of running the offence. What we saw was Puerto Rico really show up and battle towards the end. They played amazing defence and it made for an exciting finish. I thought we executed the game plan well and we played good volleyball."
Canada roster
- Kiera Van Ryk, Surrey, B.C.
- Brie King, Langley, B.C.
- Emily Maglio, Coquitlam, B.C.
- Vicky Savard, Jonquiere, Que.
- Julia Murmann, Toronto
- Jazmine White, Oshawa, Ont.
- Layne Van Buskirk, Windsor, Ont.
- Andrea Mitrovic, Mississauga, Ont.
- Shainah Joseph, Ottawa
- Alicia Ogoms, Winnipeg
- Alexa Gray, Calgary
- Hilary Howe, Calgary
- Kacey Jost, St. Albert, Alta.
- Quinn Pelland, Wanham, Ont.
