Oct. 18, 2025: Italy beat Canada today 3-1 (24–26, 25–20, 25–13, 25–18) for bronze at the World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Cup at the Turnstone Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Full standings and results: www.worldparavolley.org

Canada finishes in fourth place overall in the women’s tournament, while Italy earned its first-ever World Cup medal.

Veteran and women’s top scorer Heidi Peters led Canada in scoring against Italy with 20 points. Italy led overall in attack points (41-33), and aces (11-10). Canada led in blocks (14-12)

The Canadian women, 2024 Paralympic bronze medalists, wrapped up the tournament with a respectable three wins and four losses, which included a win over Italy earlier in the pool phase. 

On the men’s side, Canada wrapped up the tournament with two five-setters. On Friday they faced Croatia, winning 3-2 to advance to the 5-6th final.

Today, in the men’s fifth-place classification match, Poland rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Canada 3-2 (16–25, 25–16, 21–25, 25–16, 15–9). Tomasz Grell scored 19 points for the winning side, while Darek Symonowicz led Canada with 15. Canada is sixth overall with a record of 4-4.

The World Cup was a qualification pathway to the 2026 WPV Sitting Volleyball World Championships, which will take place in Hangzhou, China, next July, and an important competition for teams preparing for the LA 2028 Paralympic Games. 

Men’s Roster
2 Mikael Bartholdy, Calgary, AB
6 Bryce Foster, Thunder Bay, ON
7 Douglas Learoyd (Captain), Calgary, AB
9 Andrew Tucker, Toronto, ON
11 Jose Rebelo, Montreal, QC
12 Nicholas Aldrich, Toronto, ON
13 Jason Beaman, Calgary, AB
19 Riley Brinnen, Kelowna, BC
24 Jesse Buckingham, Toronto, ON
25 Dariusz Symonowicz, Toronto, ON
77 Connor Compton, Calgary, AB

Staff
Reid Brodie, Head Coach                       
Tania Harrison, Assistant Coach                       
Vinny Saporito, Assistant Coach
Cassandra Downe, Physiotherapist
Tashie Macapagal, Team Manager
 
Women’s Roster
1 Julia Chisholm, Victoria, BC                      
8 Jolan Wong, Pembroke, ON                               
10 Jayme Lepp, Vancouver, BC                                      
11 Heidi Peters (Captain), Neerlandia, AB                   
12 Amber Skyrpan, Wandering River, AB
13 Natasha Sexton, Halifax, NS
14 Katelyn Wright, Edmonton, AB
16 Jennifer McCreesh, Smithers, BC                                        
17 Allison Lang, Edmonton, AB                      
28 Chelsea Coates, Calgary, AB                  
33 Keira Neal, Fairmont Hot Springs, BC      
93 Anna Dunn, Edmonton, AB
 
Staff
Nicole Ban, Head Coach
Leah Mousseau, Assistant Coach
Dione Kristel, Assistant Coach
Erin Gordon, Athletic Therapist
Onika Green, Mental Performance Consultant
Nadine Plett, Statistician
Brian Kim, Team Manager

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