Canadian women bumped by Serbia in Volleyball Nations League

Canada dropped an important match to Serbia in Volleyball Nations League action on Friday in Arlington, Texas.

Serbia beat Canada 25-22, 21-25, 26-24 and 25-20 to win the best-of-five match 3-1 as the women’s tournament heats up for all teams.

Though Canada led in attacking, 63-55, the team fell short in blocking (10-9), ace serves (6-2), and had more errors 26-17. Scoring was led by Kiera Van Ryk of Canada (20 points) and her teammate middle blocker Emily Maglio (18 points). Aleksandra Uzelac led the winning side with 19 points.

Captain Alexa Gray told VBTV: “We weren’t scoring as easy as we normally do, and we made a few too many errors in all four sets. I think we’re still trying to find our rhythm this week.

After a 3-0 win over Germany on Thursday, Friday’s loss puts Canada in a tight position in the battle for a Paris Olympics berth, now almost neck and neck with the Netherlands — who beat Dominican Republic earlier Friday — in the ranking points.

Canada has four wins and three losses so far in VNL 2024. Canada plays an important match against South Korea on Sunday, also in Arlington.

WATCH | Full replay of Canada’s 3-1 loss to Serbia:

Canadian roster

• Brie O’Reilly — Langley, B.C.
• Courtney Baker — Bridgewater, N.S.
• Emily Maglio — Coquitlam, B.C.
• Jazmine White — Oshawa, Ont.
• Alicia Ogoms — Winnipeg
• Layne Van Buskirk — Windsor, Ont.
• Alexa Gray (C) — Calgary
• Hilary Johnson — Calgary
• Andrea Mitrovic — Mississauga, Ont.
• Vicky Savard — Jonquière, Que.
• Kiera Van Ryk — Surrey, B.C.
• Shainah Joseph — Ottawa
• Julia Murmann — Toronto
• Kacey Jost — St. Albert, Alta.

WATCH | Will Canada’s women’s volleyball return to Olympics for the 1st time since 1996?:

Canadian women’s volleyball team fighting for Olympic dream this VNL season

The 2024 Volleyball Nations League campaign will determine whether or not Canada returns to the Olympics for the first time since Atlanta 1996.