June 28, 2023: Canada’s women’s sitting volleyball team is set to compete at the action-packed Dutch Tournament in Assen, Netherlands (June 30 to July 02).
“This tournament is a great chance to compete against European teams (as well as USA) as we won’t see them prior to the World Cup,” explains women’s sitting volleyball head coach Nicole Ban. “We play six matches in three days, so it is a lot of volleyball and allows us to work on different line ups and all athletes to gain in-match experience.”
Participating women’s teams are USA, CAN, ITA, GBR, FRA, UKR and NED.
Canada, reigning World ParaVolley silver medalists, will begin against Ukraine and Great Britain on Friday, June 30. Canada finished third at the tournament in 2022, behind U.S. and Italy.
Although this tournament is not a Paralympic qualifier, it serves to prepare the Edmonton-based Canadian squad for upcoming opportunities to earn a berth to Paris 2024.
More on the qualification process can be found here: https://www.worldparavolley.org/road-to-paris-2024-sitting-volleyball-qualification-process/
Canada’s roster (Dutch Tournament) :
Angelena Dolezar, St. Albert, AB
Danielle Ellis (captain), White Rock, BC
Anne Fergusson, Carleton Place, ON
Julie Kozun, Melfort, SK
Allison Lang, Edmonton, AB
Jayme Lepp, Vancouver, BC
Jennifer McCreesh, Smithers, BC
Sarah Melenka, Vegreville, BC
Jennifer Oakes, Calgary, AB
Heidi Peters, Neerlandia, AB
Felicia Voss-Shafiq, Burnaby, BC
Staff:
Head Coach: Nicole Ban
Assistant Coach: Christine Biggs
Analyst: Jason Haldane
Physio: Yung Yung Wong
Team Lead/Manager: Molly Henneberry
- Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DutchTournament/
- Scheduled Live Stream on Youtube: Dutch Tournament – YouTube
Photo: Jody Bailey
Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676