Canada’s women’s volleyball team beats China 3-2 for first win at Nations League

RIMINI, Italy — The Canadian women’s volleyball team picked up its first Volleyball Nations League win Tuesday, beating China 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 25-17, 15-25, 15-12).

Kiera Van Ryk of Surrey, B.C., led Canada’s offence with 27 points as Canada improved to 1-4.

Canada had 14 blocks to China’s six and scored nine points on serve to China’s eight.

“We said in the beginning that we wanted to improve on every game throughout VNL and after losing a tough game against Turkey yesterday in five sets, today we did exactly that and were able to close out the fifth set against China,” Canada head coach  Shannon Winzer said.

“Today feels good, it’s nice to get our first win in a tough competition.”

Canada next faces Germany on Wednesday.

The annual international men’s and women’s competition featuring the world’s top 16 teams in each gender was cancelled in 2020 because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian men’s and women’s squads will each play a 15-match preliminary round until June 23. 

The top four countries advance to the semifinals and finals. 

The world governing body of volleyball, FIVB, says the competition will operate with COVID-19 countermeasures to “reduce the risk of virus transmission, including frequent testing, strict health and hygiene measures and an array of risk-mitigation protocols.”

The Canadian men, ranked No. 10 in the world, have qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics starting July 23. Nations League is important preparation for them after a year of no matches as a team.

The Canadian men (1-2) next face Iran on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2021.

The Canadian Press