Canada advances to semifinals with victory over Belize

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 10, 2026. – Canada defeated Belize in straight sets 3-0 (25-8, 25-20, 25-13) in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals of the 2026 NORCECA U-21 Women's Pan American Volleyball Cup at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Canada will face the Dominican Republic in Saturday's semifinals after the Caribbean team earned a direct berth by finishing atop Pool B.

The Canadians dominated the opening set and regained control in the third after Belize mounted its strongest challenge in the second. Belize battled back to tie the score at 18-18 before Canada closed the set with a 7-2 run to take a commanding two-set lead.

Maya Bukovcan led Canada's offense with 19 points, while Carmen Waye added 10 and Sidney Bell contributed 8.

For Belize, Nisaan Martínez scored 10 points, followed by Akili Jones with 8 and Kaylee Godfrey with 5.

Canada held the advantage in attacks (44-25) and service aces (12-2), while both teams recorded two blocks.

Matthew Krueger, Canada's coach: "We worked on a lot of things today, and I think we had a great opportunity to do so. Belize served very well, which put us under pressure and forced us to make adjustments. We were also able to get our entire roster on the court to prepare for the matches ahead."

Nelissa Ramírez, Belize's coach: "From the beginning, we knew we were facing a team from a much larger country with a more developed volleyball program than ours. I'm satisfied with the girls' performance because they have continued to improve throughout the tournament."