August 21, 2024: The Canadian Women’s NextGen Team are now 1-2 in the XXI Senior Women’s Pan American Cup after a hard-fought, five-set match against Mexico that ended 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 15-12) in favour of the host country.

"It was an exciting game," Canada’s Head Coach Shannon Winzer said after the match. “I thought that there were moments in the game we could have just given up. We scraped through in the third set and that kept us alive. We’re still making errors in key moments and sometimes move away from the game plan..."

After being shut out 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-18) by Colombia in their opening match of the event, the women’s team bounced back to defeat Peru in a 3-1 battle (22-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-23).

Winnipeg’s Abby Guezen is leading the way for Canada with 40 points, tied for fifth in the entire event. She’s followed closely by Jasmine Rivest (38 points) and Lucy Borowski (36). On the defensive side, Nyadholi Thokbuom is having a strong performance with a team-leading seven blocks, good for sixth in the tournament.

Team Canada is competing in Pool A with Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Suriname. They currently sit fourth in the pool.

Canada will play two more games in pool play, facing off Suriname on August 21 at 2:00 pm local time (CST) before playing their final match against Dominican Republic on August 22 at 2:00 pm local time. The playoffs will kick off on August 23 with the top three teams from each pool making the quarterfinals.

The tournament is being hosted in Leon and Irapuato, Mexico until Aug. 26.

Canada’s Roster:
#1 Kat Georgiadis (L) – Scarborough, ON
#6 Lauren Attieh (OH) – Abbotsford, BC
#7 Layne VanBuskirk (MB) – Windsor, ON
#16 Abby Guezen (OH) – Sherwood Park, AB 
#18 Julia Arnold (L) – Winnipeg, MB 
#20 Lucy Borowski (OH) – Vancouver, BC 
#22 Averie Allard (S) – Winnipeg, MB 
#23 Emma Boyd (MB) – Yellowknife, YT 
#27 Nyadholi Thokbuom (MB) – Calgary, MB 
#28 Raya Surinx (OH) – Winnipeg, MB 
#31 Jasmine Rivest (OH) – Montreal, QC 
#34 Gabrielle Attieh (OH) – Abbotsford, BC
#35 Isabella Noble (S) – Halifax NS

Staff:
Shannon Winzer – Head Coach
Vincenzo Mallia – Assistant Coach
Matt Krueger – Assistant Coach
Kevin Valcke – Physiotherapist
Gabriele Tortorici – Statistician
Robert Hooper – Strength and Conditioning
Jennah Paron – Team Manager

Info: www.norceca.net

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