July 01: In its third five-set match of week 3 of Volleyball Nations League (VNL), Canada’s women’s team came out on top beating Netherlands in Bangkok, Thailand.
 
Although Netherlands fought point for point in the first set, closing it at 27, Canada didn’t back down despite ups and downs and this week's streak of long games. The final score was Netherlands 2, Canada 3 (27-25, 16-25, 25-18, 23-25, 9-15) on Saturday.
 
"That game was pure grit. It wasn’t perfect and at times it wasn’t clean, but our character showed," said head coach Shannon Winzer. "We don’t go away easily and playing three, five-set matches in a row in the last round of VNL shows just how resilient and driven this group is."
 
It was a fairly even contest on paper, with Canada having the slight advantage in attack points (57-56), blocks (16-14), service aces (5-3) and points from errors (30-27).
 
Canada’s Alexa Gray led scoring with 25 points; teammate Emily Maglio added 14. Middle blocker Indy Baijens of Netherlands was top scorer for her team with 19 total.
 
Hilary Howe, who contributed 11 points to Canada’s total, told VBTV: "I think we’re playing our best volleyball yet, so it’s really exciting for the team right now. … It was fun to get a win on Canada Day!"
 
This was Canada’s final match of the preliminary phase, ending with six wins in 12 matches. As of Saturday morning, Canada sits just outside of the top 8 and will not advance to the quarterfinals; with matches still to come today and on July 2 to round out women's week 3 of the tournament.  

Standings: 
https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/vnl-2023/standings/women/

Week 3 Results (Thailand):
Croatia v. Canada 0-3 (21-25, 21-25, 26-28)
Brazil v. Canada 2-3 (30-28, 22-25, 23-25, 25-21,15-17)
Canada v. Italy  2-3 (25-22, 23-25, 14-25, 26-24, 10-15).
Netherlands v Canada  2-3 (27-25, 16-25, 25-18, 23-25, 9-15)

Week 2 Results (Hong Kong)
China v. Canada 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 29-27)
Bulgaria v. Canada 0-3 (15-25, 13-25, 15-25)
Türkiye v Canada 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-20)
Dominican Rep. v Canada 3-2 (22-25, 25-13, 25-17, 23-25, 15-10)

Week 1 Results (Türkiye)
Poland v. Canada 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13)
Canada v. Thailand 0-3 (17-25, 24-26, 21-25)
Canada v. Korea 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-18)
Canada v. Serbia 3-2 (18-25, 28-26, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12)

VNL 2023 is played based on the same competition formula as in 2022, featuring 16 teams per gender. A total of 104 matches per gender will be played across the preliminary and final phases, with every team playing a minimum of 12 matches.
 
For more on the competition formula:
https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/vnl-2023/competition/formula

Matches are featured on Volleyball World TV and in Canada at www.cbcsports.ca

VNL Women’s Roster Week 3:
3 – Kiera Van Ryk, Surrey, BC
5 - Julia Murmann, Toronto, ON
6 - Jazmine White, Oshawa, ON
7 - Layne Van Buskirk, Windsor, 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
16 - Caroline Livingston, Kelowna, BC
17 - Kacey Jost, St. Albert, AB
19 - Emily Maglio, Coquitlam, B.C.
26 - Quinn Pelland, Wanham, AB

Staff: 
Shannon Winzer – Head coach
Vincenzo Mallia – Assistant coach
Matt Krueger – Assistant coach
Gabriele Tortorici – Performance analyst
Kevin Valcke and Hilary Mallinger - Physiotherapists
Jennah Paron – Team Coordinator
Robert Hooper – Trainer (Strength & Conditioning) 
Roger Friesen – Mental Performance Coach

Viewing Reminders:
 
VNL: This match (NED v CAN) will be replayed on the CBC-TV network at 4 pm ET on Saturday, July 01. The Canadian men’s team resumes VNL on July 05 vs Netherlands in Philippines and is streamed at www.cbcsports.ca
 
Sitting Volleyball: Canada’s Para women’s team is in Assen, Netherlands this weekend participating in the international Dutch Tournament. All matches are on YouTube and more info is on Facebook. 

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