Historic first-ever medal at World ParaVolley Championships

Nov. 11, 2022: Canada won its first medal at the Sitting Volleyball World Championship level today – a silver by the women’s team in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• Match on YouTube

In an exciting match for gold today, Brazil outlasted Canada to win after forcing a tie-break set 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-6). Canada held the advantage for most of the match, until Brazil mounted a comeback in the fourth set and then dominated the fifth. 

“We knew Brazil was going to be a tough opponent and we came out fighting during in the first three sets. We played our game and scored big,” explained team veteran and captain, Danielle Ellis (White Rock, BC). 

“We couldn’t do the same in the last two, but Brazil kept up the fight. We’re proud to bring home a silver medal to Canada but it also fuels our fire for gold at our next competition.”

Earlier today, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champions USA defeated Slovenia 3-0 (25-8, 25-14, 25-10) to take the bronze medal of the women’s Worlds’ tournament. 

Canada’s women’s team was fourth in Tokyo. This is also Brazil’s women’s team’s first World Championship medal, and the team earns a berth to Paris 2024.
 
Women’s standings

1. Brazil
2. Canada
3. USA
4. Slovenia
5. Italy
6. Germany
7. Ukraine
8. Rwanda
9. Iran
10. Finland
11. Hungary
12. Poland
13. Bosnia & Herzegovina

On Thursday, the Canadian men’s sitting volleyball team concluded its 2022 Worlds campaign with an exciting showdown for 11-12 ranking. In the first two sets, Poland edged out Canada, but the Canadian men’s team came back to complete a reverse sweep 2-3 (26-24, 26-24, 14-25, 17-25, 14-16) winning the match and 11th place overall. Canada’s men’s team was 16th at its last World Championship (2010) appearance.

Men’s standings

1. Iran
2. Bosnia & Herzegovina
3. Brazil
4. Egypt
5. Germany
6. United States
7. Kazakhstan
8. Ukraine
9. Iraq
10. Croatia
11. Canada
12. Poland
13. Rwanda
14. Netherlands
15. Serbia
16. Japan
     

• All matches are streamed on World ParaVolley’s YouTube channel.
• Click here for Canadian Team rosters: https://volleyball.ca/en/news/sitting-volleyball-teams-looking-ahead-to-world-championships
• The official tournament updates can be found here: https://www.worldparavolley.org/2022-world-paravolley-sitting-volleyball-world-championships/

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