Canadian women’s volleyball team beats Cuba for first win at worlds

SAPPORO, Japan — The Canadian women’s volleyball team remained alive at the world championship with a 3-1 (16-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-20) win over Cuba on Wednesday.

The win pushes Canada (1-3) into a tie for fourth with Bulgaria in the six-team Pool B. Canada squares off with Bulgaria on Thursday, with the winner moving on to the second round.

“Bulgaria is a strong, fiery team and it’s going to come down to more than just volleyball skill (Thursday),” said Canada captain, Kyla Richey. “The winner advances; it’s going to be about who wants it more and how each team plays tactically. We played against Bulgaria in some friendly matches in Europe, so it’s not the first time we’ve been up against them. We’ve been in must-win games before so this isn’t new for us. I have full belief in this group that we will rise to the challenge.”

The victory over Cuba (0-4) came after Canada had lost 10 sets in a row to open the worlds — straight-set losses to Turkey, Italy and China and a first-set loss to Cuba.

It was Canada’s first win over Cuba in any world-level tournament.

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Brianna Beamish of Surrey, B.C., led Canada with 16 points. Alexa Lea Gray of Lethbridge, Alta., had 15, while Emily Maglio of Cranbrook, B.C., notched 14.

“I’m satisfied with the result, to get a win in the world championship, but maybe our level wasn’t so great today. We played better (against top-ranked China) under less pressure,” said Canada coach Marcello Abbondanza. “With (Wednesday’s) victory, we can still dream of reaching the second round. I hope (Thursday) we can approach the game in a better way and not like we did in the first set today.”

The Canadian Press

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