Sept. 22, 2023: After a day off for all teams, Canada beat Ukraine 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-12, 25-11) at the women’s Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Ningbo, China.
 
Canada had a tentative start, and Ukraine took advantage and control early on, however, Canada recovered to take the match in four sets.
 
"It was very slow start for us today," admitted Canada’s head coach Shannon Winzer. "We didn’t play great volleyball the first two sets and were playing catch up a lot of the time but by the third we made some changes, and with some tough serving in key moments we were able to take control for the rest of the match. With two games to go we cannot give any opponent the luxury of a slow start and we will be looking to improve on that tomorrow."
 
Alexa Gray topped the scoring charts with 24 points for Canada. Middle blocker Emily Maglio was again effective with 13 points; including five block kills. Ukraine’s opposite Anastasiia Kraiduba led her team with 16 attack points.
 
Canada plays Mexico, who has yet to find a win at the OQT, next on Sept. 23 in China.
 
After Dominican Republic upset powerhouse Serbia, and Netherlands defeated China in five sets, also today, here are the Pool A standings: 

https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/volleyball-olympic-qualifying-tournament/standings/women/

Each OQT pool is played in a single round robin format and is ranked per the standard team rankings system. There are three pools and the top two ranked teams per pool qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The men’s tournament is Sept. 30 to Oct. 08, with Canada also competing in China.

Team Canada:
3 – Kiera Van Ryk, Surrey, BC
4 - Vicky Savard, Jonquière, QC
5 - Julia Murmann, Toronto, ON
6 - Jazmine White, Oshawa, ON
8 - Alicia Ogoms, Winnipeg, MB
9 - Alexa Gray, Calgary, AB
11 - Andrea Mitrovic, Mississauga, ON
13 - Brie King, Langley, BC
14 - Hilary Howe, Calgary, AB
15 - Shaïnah Joseph, Ottawa, ON
17 - Kacey Jost, St. Albert, AB
19 - Emily Maglio, Coquitlam, B.C.
21 – Avery Heppell, Langley, B.C.
26 – Quinn Pelland, Wanham, AB
 
Head coach: Shannon Winzer

Vincenzo Mallia - Asst. coach
Matt Krueger - Asst. coach
Kevin Valcke - Physiotherapist 
Gabriele Tortorici - Statistician 
Rob Hooper - IST lead
Hilary Mallinger - Physiotherapist 
Roger Friesen - Mental performance coach
Julien Boucher - High performance director
Jennah Paron - Team coordinator 

Viewing Guide:

In Canada, www.cbcsports.ca 
Worldwide: VBTV

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

Photo: Volleyball World