ARLINGTON — After winning three of four Volleyball Nations League matches in Rio de Janeiro to keep their hopes alive for a berth in the Paris Olympics, the Canadian women's team were handed a setback Tuesday night by the powerful United States.
The U.S. squad, playing in front of loud American supporters, defeated Canada 25-22, 25-17, 23-25 and 25-20 to win the best-of-five VNL match 3-1.
Despite losing, Canada led in attacks (59-52), tied the U.S. in blocks with 10 each, had 11 unforced errors compared to 33 for the U.S. The winners dominated in digs (101-95).
Kiera Van Ryk had 20 points for Canada.
Heavily involved in the race to qualify for the Paris Olympics through the FIVB world rankings, Canada and Germany are looking to add valuable points in Arlington.
The Canadians managed to enter the qualification zone with 290.61 points after their results in Brazil. They'll hope to improve their standing this week with matches against Germany, Serbia and Korea.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2024.
The Canadian Press
