July 11, 2022: Volleyball Nations League’s preliminary phase wrapped up for the men this past weekend, with Canada closing out with a 0-3 loss to USA in Osaka, Japan on Saturday. The men’s team finished the tournament with 2 wins and 10 losses.

The Canadian women’s team, closing its final stage on July 03 in Calgary, finished with 4 wins and 8 losses in its second VNL season or 12th overall, an improvement over the team’s 2021 standing of 14th.

“I think over the last few years we’ve shown that we’re an up-and-coming team and that we can play with the best,” women’s head coach Shannon Winzer said after the team’s final VNL match. “We have a few things we need to tweak, but every year, every game, we get better and better and we’re definitely a team to watch.”

The women’s teams heading to the finals are USA, Brazil, Italy, China, Japan, Serbia, Türkiye and Thailand. The finals take place in Ankara this week, from July 13 through 17, in a simple knockout format – quarterfinals, semifinals and medal matches – with two games a day over four competition days.

On the men’s side: Italy, Poland, USA, France, Japan, Brazil, Iran, and Netherlands head to the finals. Two quarterfinal matches will open the men’s next round in Bologna, Italy, on July 20,

Despite the squad finishing 15th, Canada’s men’s team avoids relegation and will remain in VNL next year. Australia, who ended its campaign losing to France in straight sets on Sunday, finished as the lowest-ranked team in the tournament with one win and two points and will need to win this year’s Volleyball Challenger Cup to earn a spot in VNL 2023.

The Canadian men’s team finished 8th in 2021.

Both the men’s and women’s teams have qualified for the World Championships, which take place in late August, early September for the men and begin September 23, 2022 for the women.

Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676

Tournament web site:
https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/vnl-2022