July 13, 2025: Team Canada won its final match of Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2025 with a dramatic win over Thailand, 3-2 (17-25, 25-23, 30-28, 23-25, 15-13) in Arlington, Texas, today.

"We started this tournament with around eight players in their first VNL of their careers and only a few experienced players," explained Canada's head coach Giovanni Guidetti.

"It was a difficult mission, but I'm very impressed with the fighting spirit of the team - we played many tie-break matches and we never gave up even against strong opponents like the United States. I'm very happy to see many players grow, take more responsibility and understand what it takes to play at this level.

"My overall judgement of this VNL is positive. Even if only winning three matches doesn't look great from the outside, the way I saw the team train hard, come back after every loss, stand up again after every punch, it was amazing. This was a very important tournament for this team."

Today, Thailand dominated in attack points (84-66), but Canada led in blocking points (14-7), aces (6-3) and earned more points from opponent errors 24-20.

Coming off a big match against USA last night, it was Hilary Johnson again leading the way for the Canadians with 25 points, including 22 off the attack. Veteran Emily Maglio was close behind with 19 points, including an impressive eight blocks. Another veteran, Andrea Mitrovic, was third on the team with 13 points all of which came off the attack.

On Thailand’s side, Ajcharaporn Kongyot led all scoring with 27 points.

Johnson led the way for Canada throughout the tournament with 116 points. Maglio was second on the squad with 104 points (40th overall, followed by VNL newcomer Anna Smrek with 102 points (42nd overall).

Canada finishes the tournament with a 3-9 record in 16th place with 10 points. This result ensures that Team Canada will compete in VNL in 2026! Thailand also narrowly avoided relegation and finishes in 17th place.

The Canadian women will have just six weeks before they are back in international action at the 2025 FIVB Women’s World Championships in Thailand, August 22 to September 7, 2025.

Week 3 Results (Arlington, Texas)
Canada v. Thailand 3-2 (17-25, 25-23, 30-28, 23-25, 15-13)
Canada v. USA 2-3 (24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 17-19)
Canada v. China 1-3 (22-25, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25)
Germany v. Canada 3-2 (24-26, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13).

Week 2 Results (Istanbul, Türkiye)
Belgium v. Canada 3-2 (22-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-22, 18-16)
Canada v. Brazil 0-3 (20-25, 23-25, 23-25)
Canada v. Türkiye 0-3 (16-25, 18-25, 24-26)
Korea v. Canada 3-2 (27-25, 25-18, 15-25, 20-25, 15-13)

Week 1 Results (Ottawa, Ontario)
Bulgaria v. Canada 2-3 (18-25, 12-25, 25-23, 25-19, 4-15)
Canada v. Netherlands 1-3 (18-25, 25-22, 15-25, 23-25)
Canada v. Japan 0-3 (24-26, 20-25, 19-25)
Canada v. Serbia 3-2 (20-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-12)

Canada's Roster (week 3)
Averie Allard, Winnipeg, MB
Quinn Pelland, Wanham, AB
Anna Smrek, Welland, ON
Emily Maglio, Coquitlam, BC
Jazmine White, Oshawa, ON (captain)
Nyadholi Thokbuom, Calgary, AB
Abagayle Guezen, Sherwood Park, AB
Andrea Mitrovic, Mississauga, ON
Hilary Johnson, Calgary, AB
Lucy Borowski, Vancouver, BC
Raya Surinx, Winnipeg, MB
Kacey Jost, St. Albert, AB
Katerina Georgiadis, Scarborough, ON
Julia Murmann, Toronto, ON

Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676