June 18, 2025: The Canadian women’s national team opened the second leg of Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2025 in Istanbul, Türkiye with a five-set 3-2 (27-25, 25-18, 15-25, 20-25, 15-13) loss to Korea.

“It’s not the result we wanted,” said Canada’s head coach Giovanni Guidetti. “Korea put our attack in trouble and our block defense was not enough. But we knew that we came to Istanbul with a very young team with many players in their first full VNL match. I’m happy the team didn’t give up after going down 2-0. … We want to keep working, progressing and pushing every match.”

The first set required extra serves after a back-and-forth battle, ultimately going Korea’s way. After Korea took the second set as well, Canada pushed back to force a fifth and final frame. Canada came out in that final set strong, going up 6-1 after six-straight points, but Korea answered shortly after with seven-straight points to take a 10-8 lead and held on for their first win of VNL 2025.

Abby Guezen, playing in her first VNL this year, led the way for Team Canada with 17 points, all off the attack. She was closely followed by another first-time VNL athlete, Anna Smrek who had 16 points, including four off the block. Team veteran Emily Maglio led the team in block points with five and was third overall on the team with 13 points.

Canada now sits 2-3 in the tournament and in 10th place. The team will have no time to rest as this match was the first of three-straight days of games for the women’s group.

Canada will face off against hosts Türkiye, who are currently undefeated in VNL 2025, tomorrow (June 19) at 12:30pm ET. On June 20, they’ll battle Team Brazil at the same time.

These will be tough matches for Canada – Türkiye is the third-ranked team in the world and Brazil is second.

Week 1 Results (Ottawa)
Bulgaria v. Canada 2-3 (18-25, 12-25, 25-23, 25-19, 4-15)
Canada v. Netherlands 1-3 (18-25, 25-22, 15-25, 23-25)
Canada v. Japan 0-3 (24-26, 20-25, 19-25)
Canada v. Serbia 3-2 (20-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-12)

All teams are vying for a spot in the quarterfinals (top 8): https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/volleyball-nations-league/standings/women/

Canada's Roster:
Averie Allard, Winnipeg, MB
Quinn Pelland, Wanham, AB
Anna Smrek, Welland, ON
Emily Maglio, Coquitlam, BC
Jazmine White, Oshawa, ON (captain)
Jessica Andrews, Guelph, ON
Nyadholi Thokbuom, Calgary, AB
Abagayle Guezen, Sherwood Park, AB
Andrea Mitrovic, Mississauga, ON
Hilary Johnson, Calgary, AB
Lucy Borowski, Vancouver, BC
Raya Surinx, Winnipeg, MB
Delaney Watson, St. Jacobs, ON
Kacey Jost, St. Albert, AB
Katerina Georgiadis, Scarborough, ON

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