Canada stuns Croatia in Group 2

NEUQUEN, Argentina, July 9, 2017 - Canada recovered after losing first set and ruled out Croatia 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-10, 25-18) in the very first meeting between the two teams in the history of the FIVB World Grand Prix.

Alexa Lea Gray topped the charts with 25 points to confirm her role as Canada's top scorer and extending their tally in this year's Group 2 to 54 points. She was followed by Kyla Richey with 19 points while on the losing side Katarina Luketić (13) and Lucija Mlinar (11) proved to be the best scorers.

In Chiclayo, Peru, Colombia swept Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 26-24) also in Group 2 of the competition.

Dayana Segovia led Colombia with 19 points, followed by Maria Margarita Martinez an Giselle Pérez each with 10 points. Daly Santana had 11 points for Puerto Rico.

In Group 3 in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Rachel Rourke put on a serving clinic for Australia, as they defeated Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-23) to earn their first-ever win in the FIVB World Grand Prix.

Rourke recorded 11 aces among her 25 points, which made her the leading scorer of the match. Her tally was a large portion of Australia’s 15 overall aces for the match. 

Also, Hungary showed top form to extend its winning run in Pool A3, with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-18) win over hosts Mexico.

Greta Szakmary top scored for Hungary for the third time with 14 points. Szakmary led the European side on defence, as she mounted four of her team's 12 blocks. Lizbeth Sainz led Mexico with 10 points.