Sept 16, 2023: Canada began its Olympic Qualification Tournament campaign today in Ningbo, China, with a hard-fought win over Netherlands.

Despite an exciting close first set, it was Netherlands that looked in control until the fourth set. It ended in a 2-3 (30-32, 25-19, 25-15, 17-25, 13-15) tie-break match with Canada taking the crucial first win. 

"It’s great to start off this OQT with a win. Netherlands is a very strong team and playing excellent volleyball after their bronze at the European championships last month,” said Canada’s head coach Shannon Winzer after Saturday’s match. "Tonight wasn’t a perfect performance but we once again showed that this team has grit and can find confidence knowing we can battle through the imperfect volleyball to still come back to play our top volleyball."
 
Canada’s Alexa Gray led all scoring with 28 points, but it was a team effort with Kiera Van Ryk (19), Emily Maglio with 12 (including 4 blocks) and Hilary Howe with 10. Full stats here.

Dutch opposite Celeste Plak led her team with 23 points.

Canada led in attack points (77-70). The Netherlands led in blocking points (14-8) and earned eight points from the service line, including five aces from Marrit Jasper. Canada had only one ace but made a couple less errors than its opponent.

Canada next plays NORCECA rivals Dominican Republic on Sept. 17 at 1 am Eastern Time.

"Tomorrow’s game against the Dominican team is another big game and this tournament is going to require us to get over both wins and losses quickly to focus on the next opponent," said Winzer.

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.

Full schedule is here.

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