Canada outperforms Cuba to play for positions 5 to 8

Canada outperforms Cuba to play for positions 5 to 8

IRAPUATO, Mexico, August 23, 2024.- Canada defeated Cuba 3-1 (27-25, 20-25, 25-19, 26-24) to advance to the battle for positions 5 to 8 at the 21st Women's Pan American Volleyball Cup.

Canada will play a classification match for positions 5 to 8 on Saturday at the Inforum in Irapuato, while Cuba will await the loser of the match between Chile and Peru to determine the final positions for 9 and 10.

Canada recovered from two set points in favor of Cuba (the first at 24-23 and 25-24) to win the first set with two attacks by Gabrielle Attieh when the match was tied at 25-25.

Cuba won the second set after gaining an advantage from point 10 with Dezirett Madan and Laura Suárez each scoring 4 points. In the third and fourth sets, both teams had to adjust due to injuries of key players, such as middle blocker Abagayle Guezen for Canada, who left the court in the second set, and Cubans Madan and James, both key players for their team.

Canada's superior attack made the difference, outscoring Cuba 61-43. Cuba led in blocks (13-12) and service points (5-3), with 32 unforced errors by Canada compared to 22 from Cuba.

The top scorer was Canada's Nyadholi Thokboum with 19 points, followed by Gabrielle Attieh with 15 and Lucy Borowski with 13. Dezirett Madan and Laura de la Peña each scored 12 points for Cuba.

Nyadholi Thokboum, top scorer of Canada: “It was a hard game to get through because we got some injuries on our starters, so it was important to dial in and do the best for my team. We had a game plan going in, we had some shots we wanted to make, some block assignments and I think we got away from it a little bit; we got refocused towards the end. It was a team effort”.

Shannon Winzer, Head coach of Canada: “That was a very hard match. We did not play good volleyball. We made a lot of unfocused errors, and obviously we had a lot of interruptions with injuries and leaking roofs. I’m glad that we won in the end, but it was not good volleyball on our part at all. We lost our starting middle blocker and our captain right now, but we will reases. We can definitely fight better with the people we have on the floor”.