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TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 22, 2022 – Canada had
to come back in each set against a tenacious
Costa Rica and went on to win 3-0 (27-25, 25-23,
25-22) at the Pan American Cup on Friday at the
Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Canada (2-3) will play Mexico (3-2) for fifth
place and a 2023 World Championship berth on
Saturday. Costa Rica (0-4) will play Peru (0-4)
for seventh place.
Costa Rica had set point three times in the
first set, but Canada held off the loss. Canada
took its first set point at 26-25 and won on a
kill by Taylor de Boer. Costa Rica led 23-19 in
the second set before Canada scored six straight
points to win. Costa Rica led 16-14 in the third
set before Canada pulled ahead.
Costa Rica scored 39 points on Canada’s errors
while giving up 19. Costa Rica led in aces
(7-5). Canada led in spikes (50-24) and blocks
(3-2).
De Boer led all scorers with 16 points on 15
kills and one ace. Sofia Vega led Costa Rica
with 10 points on seven spikes and three aces.
Canada Coach Christine Biggs: It was frustrating
to see so many unforced errors from the group
today. Every match that we are in is an
opportunity for us to learn as we progress later
into the tournament in terms of body management
and ability to focus and execute in all sorts of
circumstances. I’m pleased that we get to
advance into the next match. It’s a big one for
us. But we have a lot of work to do.
Kareem Richards, coach of Costa Rica: “Very
proud of these girls that showed that with the
proper preparation and the right structure they
are able to compete at this level. Canada is a
very good team, very tall but the players
followed our instructions and that is why played
the way we did. The lack of experience showed at
the end of the sets that we could not close.
Even though we did not win the match, we got a
lot of experience. Today, our team grew up a
little bit more.” |
