Canada's women stay in hunt for Olympic volleyball berth, outlasting host China
Maglio a big net presence with 9 blocks while teammate Van Ryk leads with 26 points
A gutsy and resilient Canadian women's volleyball squad remains in the mix for an Olympic berth.
Emily Maglio's ninth block of the match more than two hours 30 minutes after the first serve sent Canada to a five-set victory on Wednesday over China, site of the qualifying tournament for next summer's Games in Paris.
After the hosts saved match point in the deciding set, Canada outside hitter Kiera Van Ryk collected her team-high 26th point of the match to put her team ahead to stay at 16-15.
Captain Alexa Gray added 24 points for Canada, which prevailed 28-26, 15-25, 25-23, 22-25, 17-15 to even its record at 2-2 in Ningbo. China (3-1) suffered its first loss after sweeping Ukraine, Mexico and the Czech Republic.
"That was an incredibly gutsy game," head coach Shannon Winzer told Volleyball Canada. "This was never going to be won by playing safe and I think every single person on this team dug deep to deliver.
"Tonight was a great reminder of what we are capable of and why this group is so special."
WATCH | Canada ekes out 5-set win over China at Olympic qualifier:
Following a welcomed off-day Thursday after playing five sets in three of its four matches, 11th-ranked Canada faces winless Ukraine (0-4) on Friday at 1 a.m. ET that will be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. From there, it's No. 23 Mexico (0-4) and the 16th-ranked Czechs (1-3) on the weekend.
The Canadians need a top-two finish in Pool A to secure their spot in Paris. They sit fifth at 2-2 behind Serbia (4-0), China, Netherlands (3-1) and Dominican Republic (3-1), which has its toughest opponents ahead in Serbia (Thursday) and China (Saturday).
They opened play with a 3-2 win over the Dutch before losing to the Dominicans by the same score. Canada suffered its second straight loss, falling 3-0 to third-ranked Serbia on Tuesday.
Japan and Turkey are 4-0 atop Pool B, while Italy and United States lead Pool C with identical 4-0 marks.
Canada 9th at 1996 Atlanta Olympics
Six other Olympic spots will be available via world ranking next year at the conclusion of the Volleyball Nations League season.
The Canadian women last qualified in Atlanta 1996, finishing ninth.
Qualifying for Paris would take the Canadian team to an overseas Games for the first time. Other than Atlanta, Canada only featured in Olympic women's volleyball in Los Angeles 1984 and Montreal 1976, finishing eighth in both events.
It was exciting final set at the Beilun Tiyi Centre after Canada made a valiant effort to tie the second.
It appeared the Chinese would coast to victory after building a 6-1 advantage, highlighted by kill blocks from Wang Yuanyuan and Li Yingying — who had a match-high 30 points — plus a Diao Linyu ace.
"We need to take some risks," Winzer could be heard saying to her charges during a timeout after China took a 3-0 lead.
But Canada chipped away at the deficit, thanks in part to a pair of Maglio blocks while a China service error made it 9-9.
"It was a lot of ups and downs," said Gray, "but we battled it out with one of the top teams in the world."
Our blocking defence was something we've been talking about this week. Tonight, it was working much better than the last three games.— Canada captain Alexa Gray
The Canadians took a 12-10 lead on a point from middle blocker Jazmine White and a missed hit by China, which knotted matters at 13.
An unsuccessful tip by Gray put the Chinese in the lead but the Calgary native was able to save match point on the ensuing play.
China finished with 19 blocks to Canada's 11 while also holding the edge in serving (10-3 in aces) and accuracy (17-19 in unforced errors). The Canadians were superior in spiking, prevailing 76-66 in attack kills.
"I am really proud of this team and our fight against China," Gray said. "We stuck to our game plan and stayed together as a team, and our blocking defence was something we've been talking about this week. Tonight, it was working much better than in the last three games."
WATCH | Full coverage of Wednesday's Pool A match: Canada vs. China:
Canada roster
- Kiera Van Ryk — Surrey, B.C.
- Vicky Savard — Jonquière, Que.
- Julia Murmann — Toronto
- Jazmine White — Oshawa, Ont.
- Alicia Ogoms — Winnipeg
- Alexa Gray — Calgary
- Andrea Mitrovic — Mississauga, Ont.
- Brie King — Langley, B.C.
- Hilary Howe — Calgary
- Shaïnah Joseph — Ottawa
- Kacey Jost — St. Albert, Alta.
- Emily Maglio — Coquitlam, B.C.
- Avery Heppell — Langley, B.C.
- Quinn Pelland — Wanham, Alta.
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