June 06, 2022: The Canadian women’s team finished the first week of VNL in Shreveport–Bossier City, Louisiana, with a 2-2 record.

Korea couldn’t hold back Canada last night, ending with a 0-3 (21-25, 13-25, 16-25) win for the North American team.

Canada picked up this win, plus a 3-0 over Dominican Republic. The Canadians lost to USA, also Olympic champions, as well as falling in their opener to Poland 3-1.

"We started the round off pretty tentative against Poland and played too safe from the service line. I think nerves played a part in that first performance, but we bounced back very well against Dominican. Everyone showed up, did their jobs and I felt like we were in control of that game from start to finish,” said head coach Shannon Winzer.
 
"USA is always a tough match up, they are a formidable opponent very deserving of their #1 world ranking and have the depth to back that up as well. I thought we continued to see some good things from our team, particularly from athletes who came on in that game...  being able to test out different lineups and get some valuable experience for our young roster against the best in the world is a big plus for us regardless of the outcome,” continued Winzer.
 
“Our goal was to approach the game against Korea with the service pressure you saw against the Dominican and continue to control that first contact so we can run our offense because in system I think we are a tough team to play against."
 
Kiera Van Ryk (14 points) and middle Jennifer Cross (13 points) led the scoring in last night's decisive win.
 
The women’s team heads to the Philippines, and then back to Canada for the third leg, June 28 to July 03 (Seven Chiefs Sportsplex, Tsuut'ina Nation). Tickets www.showpass.com
 
The women’s finals for 2022 will be held in Ankara, Turkey.
 
The men now begin their VNL tournament in Ottawa with a match vs. Germany on June 07. Tickets: TDPlace.ca

All matches of VNL 2022 will be streamed on Volleyball TV, and Canadian viewers can follow the action at www.cbcsports.ca live.

Roster (week 1):
Brie King, Surrey, BC
Courtney Baker, Bridgewater, NS
Jennifer Cross (Captain), Scarborough, ON
Emily Maglio, Coquitlam, BC
Jazmine White, Oshawa, ON
Allyssah Fitterer, Georgetown, ON
Hilary Howe, Calgary, AB
Andrea Mitrovic, Mississauga, ON
Alexa Gray, Calgary, AB
Caroline Livingston, Kelowna, BC
Kiera Van Ryk, Surrey, BC
Sydney Grills, Vancouver, BC
Kat Georgiadis, Scarborough, ON
Julia Murmann, Toronto, ON
 
Staff
Shannon Winzer - Head Coach
Vincenzo Mallia- Assistant Coach
Matt Krueger - Assistant Coach
Hilary Mallinger - Physiotherapist
Nicole Ban - Team Manger 
David Dantes - Scout/Statistician 
Robert Hooper - S&C Lead/Physical Trainer

Members of the media requiring accreditation for the Ottawa, June 7 to 12 (men) or Calgary (women) VNL matches, please contact Jackie Skender
For more info, please see the VNL web site, including full schedule.
Please note: Tickets for the men's VNL in Ottawa are currently on sale at https://www.tdplace.ca/event/volleyball-nations-league/

Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender
Mobile: 613.794.7676