Canada Earns First Win with a Reverse

Sweep Over Cuba at Women’s Final Six

GUADALAJARA, Jalisco, September 19, 2025 .– Canada pulled off an impressive reverse sweep to capture their first victory at the 2025 NORCECA Women’s Final Six, defeating Cuba 3-2 (14-25, 14-25, 27-25, 25-19, 15-11) on Friday night at Unidad Deportiva López Mateos in Guadalajara.

Both Canada and Cuba concluded the preliminary round with a 1-4 record and will face each other once again on Sunday in the match for fifth place.

Cuba dominated the opening two sets with a powerful net presence, led by Yailin De La Peña, Laura Suárez, and Whitney James. Strong blocking and aggressive serving helped the Cubans control the pace, taking the first set with a 6-0 block advantage and repeating their dominance early in the second with Dayana Martínez contributing back-to-back blocks. Canada responded with spirited attacks from Lauren Attieh and Sydney Grills, but Cuba remained steady, closing the set with an ace from Lisania Grafort.

The third set saw a major shift as Canada jumped to an early 7-3 lead behind Emma Boyd’s kills and blocks, with Grills adding pressure from the service line. Canada surged ahead 17-8 before Cuba fought back to tie the set at 23 and even reached match point with a De La Peña ace. Boyd delivered a clutch kill to level the score, and Canada capitalized on a Cuban error to extend the match.

Canada kept their momentum in the fourth, rallying from a three-point deficit to tie at 14-all. A late surge, highlighted by an Attieh kill and a Grills block over Evilania Martínez, gave Canada set point. Grills blocked Yanisleidis Sánchez to force a tie-break.

The decisive fifth set was closely contested until 5-5, when Canada pulled away for good. Attieh and Isabella Noble anchored the block, while Boyd sealed the win with a final kill.

Canada benefited from 34 Cuban errors (while committing 24) despite Cuba leading in attacks (57-45), blocks (13-10), and aces (11-6).

Canadian star Emma Boyd topped all scorers with 19 points (14 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces). Sydney Grills added 14 points to the win (10 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces). Cuba’s Whitney James led her team with 16 points (11 kills, 2 blocks, 3 aces), while Yailin De La Peña contributed 14 (10 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces). Dayana Martínez and Claudia Tarín chipped in 13 points each, and Laura Suárez added 12.

Emma Boyd, captain of Canada said about the win: “We came back from losing the first two sets focusing on taking care on our standards on our side of the net. Didn’t focus on Cuba was doing because we knew that if we improved and cleaned up our execution, things would  probably start to go our way. All the subs brought different energy to the court, and it was a beautiful win”.