Canadian women fall to host U.S. in Week 2 of Volleyball Nations League
Canada (3-2) will next face Germany (1-3) on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
After winning three of four Volleyball Nations League matches in Rio de Janeiro to keep their hopes alive for a berth in the Paris Olympics, the Canadian women's team was handed a setback Tuesday night by the powerful United States.
The U.S., playing in front of loud American supporters, defeated Canada 25-22, 25-17, 23-25 and 25-20 to win the best-of-five VNL match 3-1.
Despite losing, Canada led in attacks (59-52), tied the U.S. in blocks with 10 each, had 11 unforced errors compared to 33 for the U.S. The winners dominated in digs (101-95).
"It's tough to beat a top team in the world when you make 33 errors," Canada head coach Shannon Winzer told Volleyball Canada. "We have a few things we need to clean up, but we also continue to do a lot right and we are still in a good position for a strong round."
Alexa Gray led Canada with 23 points, while Kiera Van Ryk added 20.
In the middle, Emily Maglio racked up eight attack points and three blocks, while Kathryn Plummer topped the Americans with 16 points, one more than teammates Jordan Larson and Jordan Thompson.
WATCH | Full replay of Canada's 3-1 loss to United States:
Canada (3-2) will next face Germany (1-3) on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET.
"We want to go back to controlling the 'controllables' and being patient in attack," Winzer said of the Germany matchup. "Our subs continue to do a great job for us and our whole team is willing to do whatever is needed to get the job done."
Heavily involved in the race to qualify for the Olympics through the FIVB world rankings, Canada and Germany are looking to add valuable points in Arlington.
The Canadians managed to enter the qualification zone with 290.61 points after their results in Brazil. They'll hope to improve their standing this week with matches against Germany, Serbia and Korea.
Canadian roster
- Brie O'Reilly — Langley, B.C.
- Courtney Baker — Bridgewater, N.S.
- Emily Maglio — Coquitlam, B.C.
- Jazmine White — Oshawa, Ont.
- Alicia Ogoms — Winnipeg
- Layne Van Buskirk — Windsor, Ont.
- Alexa Gray (C) — Calgary
- Hilary Johnson — Calgary
- Andrea Mitrovic — Mississauga, Ont.
- Vicky Savard — Jonquière, Que.
- Kiera Van Ryk — Surrey, B.C.
- Shainah Joseph — Ottawa
- Julia Murmann — Toronto
- Kacey Jost — St. Albert, Alta.
WATCH | Will Canada's women's volleyball return to Olympics for the 1st time since 1996?:
With files from CBC Sports
