Sept. 30, 2022: Canada won its second match in a row at the FIVB Volleyball World Championship in Lodz, Poland today putting the team in position to advance to the next phase of the tournament.

In a crucial match with Bulgaria, Canada controlled most of the play to win in four sets 1-3 (21-25, 27-25, 20-25,15-25). Canada led in attack points (68-47), was even at 5 block points, and had the advantage in service aces (5-2). Bulgaria scored more points from Canadian errors (29-22).

“I’m super proud! I think we were very clinical in how we executed our game plan, and we asked the team to show up today and just be warriors on the court and they did that! When we lost points, we didn’t get frustrated, we just battled. And I think that attitude and presence on court is what saw us frustrate Bulgaria,” said Canada’s head coach Shannon Winzer.

She added: "Our servers were outstanding today... and that was a big part of how we took the win."

Kiera Van Ryk led Canada’s scoring with 22 points, followed by Alexa Gray (19) and Hilary Howe (17).

Team Captain Jen Cross echoed the coach’s sentiments: “I’m pumped about this win; we struggled with Bulgaria in VNL (Volleyball Nations League earlier this year) but we proved today what a strong team we can be when we’re firing, so this win is huge.

"We had a really good serving match and our block defense really showed up today, and that’s a huge factor for us to be successful.”

Canada, now 2-2, is in Pool C, which includes Serbia, USA, Bulgaria, Germany and Kazakhstan. The final pool match is Saturday against Germany, but Canada has at least fourth place in its pool to advance. The next phase begins Oct. 04.

Full schedule: https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/women-worldchampionship-2022/schedule/

The 19th edition of the Women's World Championship takes place in the Netherlands and Poland. Matches will be played across three Dutch and three Polish cities between September 23 and October 15.

Matches will be online at www.cbcsports.ca for Canadian viewers and on VBTV around the world.
 
Roster (in no particular order)
Jennifer Cross (captain), Scarborough, Ont.
Brie King, Langley, B.C.
Emily Maglio, Coquitlam, B.C.
Jazmine White, Oshawa, Ont.
Alicia Ogoms, Winnipeg, Man.
Hilary Howe, Calgary, Alta.
Andrea Mitrovic, Mississauga, Ont.
Alexa Gray, Calgary, Alta.
Caroline Livingston, Kelowna, B.C.
Kiera Van Ryk, Surrey, B.C
Vicky Savard, Jonquière. Que.
Kim Robitaille, Repentigny, Quebec
Julia Murmann, Toronto, Ont.
Arielle Palermo, Burlington, Ont.

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

Photo: Volleyball World