Team Canada is facing the Dominican Republic on Saturday for an Olympic berth on the line in women’s volleyball. In a four-team tournament known as the NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation) Olympic Women’s Continental Qualifier, Canada reached the final on Friday with a dominant 25-16, 25-22, 25-10 semifinal win over Puerto Rico in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Dominicans reached the final by beating Cuba in four sets in the other semifinal, 20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-15.
It was another strong game for the best player on Team Canada, and possibly one of the best players in the world today, opposite Kiera Van Ryk of New Westminster, British Columbia, Van Ryk scored 20 points as she had 13 points from the attack, four aces and three blocks.
Van Ryk was the catalyst in the turning point in the second set. At one point in the middle frame, Canada was trailing Puerto Rico 18-12. Then Canada outscored Puerto Rico 13-4 with Van Ryk collecting three straight aces.
Canada is coming off an historic win over the United States on Wednesday. They defeated the Americans 25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 15-10 to win their very first Norceca Women’s Volleyball Championship. However, Canada never faced the 15th ranked Dominicans in winning the championship. The Canadians are ranked eighth in the world, but the Dominican Republic will have home court advantage on Saturday.
