Canada Takes Fifth Place at NORCECA U17

with Straight-Set Win over Costa Rica

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, November 9, 2025. – Canada defeated Costa Rica in straight sets 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-15) to secure fifth place at the 2025 NORCECA Girls’ U17 Continental Championship, held from November 4 to 9 at the Gimnasio Nacional in San José, Costa Rica.

Canada closed the event with a 4-2 win-loss record, while the host team finished 2-4. This was the second time in the tournament that Canada swept Costa Rica, having also done so during pool play.

Canada held a dominant 40-11 advantage in attacks, along with a 7-6 edge in blocks and a comfortable 12-6 margin in service aces. The Canadians gave up 34 points on errors, while Costa Rica committed 16.

Winji Magdi led Canada’s offense with 19 points (16 kills, 1 block, 3 aces), followed by Elaina Grover with 12 points (9 kills, 3 blocks). Luciana Vargas was Costa Rica’s top scorer with 8 points, including 4 aces.

The first set was closely contested, with Costa Rica rallying from an 11-7 deficit to tie the score at 11 thanks to a block from Vargas over Magdi and several Canadian errors. Both teams exchanged points until Canada pulled ahead to take the set 25-22.

In the second set, after a 6-all tie, Shayla Byrnell scored two consecutive service points and Magdi added two kills to push Canada ahead 10-6. Despite committing 13 errors, Canada’s strong attacking power carried them to a 25-20 win.

Canada dominated the third set, jumping to an early 8-1 lead with contributions from Chloe Dumont and Elaina Grover. The Canadians maintained control throughout, with Magdi and Grover continuing to produce offensively. Charlsey Goetz closed the match with consecutive points to complete the sweep.

Sandra Lamb, Head Coach of Canada, said about the match and the team’s performance: “The girls did extremely well today. We missed a few serves that we probably should have made, but we battled. The game planning all week was good, and I thought the girls adjusted to that really well. Every game we got better, so I am super proud of the group.”

Kareem Richards, Head Coach of Costa Rica, said: “It was a very interesting match; I think we fought harder than in the previous game against Canada. We must acknowledge the strength of the Canadian team. On our side, at times we stopped fighting, although that’s normal at this age level; we need to teach them to fight until the end. A sixth-place finish is good — we wanted a bit more, but we’re grateful for the result.”