Canadian women's volleyball team tops Cuba to win bronze at Continental Championship
CBC
Canada wrapped up a successful NORCECA senior women's volleyball Continental Championship performance with a bronze medal after defeating Cuba in four sets (25-21, 25-17, 17-25, 25-16) in Quebec City on Sunday.
Canada got back to its winning ways in the first set against a Cuban squad that fell in three sets to the United States in the semis, with Kiera Van Ryk leading the way with six points.
WATCH | Canada defeats Cuba for bronze:
Canada was up 24-18 in the opening set when Cuba turned the tide with three straight points, forcing Canada to take a timeout.
Cuba put together a strong start in the second half to take an 8-4 lead early, but Canada rattled off seven consecutive points — four by Van Ryk — to regain the lead, and eventually took the set 25-17.
The flashes that Cuba showed in the first two sets finally started to break through with their backs against the wall, jumping out to a 15-4 lead.
Canada tried to claw its way back, but Greisy Fine Martinez collected six of her team-leading 16 points in the set as Cuba held on to win 25-17 to stave off the loss.
"I thought the third set was messy, but while we struggled again with first contact in the first two sets, we showed some patience," Canada head coach Shannon Winzer said in a release. "We know that we are a physical team, compared with Cuba, and we really wanted to show that today.
Van Ryk was once again dominant in the fourth set with seven points, as Canada cruised to a 25-16 win to claim bronze in front of the home crowd.
The Surrey, B.C., native paced Canada with 24 points and 20 attacks overall, while Jazmine White of Oshawa, Ont., led the way with six blocks — three of which came in the clinching fourth set — and delivered the game-winning ace.
The Dominican Republic captured gold later on Sunday with a five-set victory over the U.S. (12-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13).
WATCH | Dominican Republic beats U.S. in gold-medal match:
Canada's next stop is the Olympic Qualification tournament in China, taking place Sept. 16 to 24.
"This is preparation for the Olympic qualifier – we wanted to try out some subs in a few different situations and we wanted to try out different lineups and starting rotations," Winzer said. "Coming away top three in NORCECA is excellent, but it's also good preparation.
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