Volleyball Canada – Sept. 04, 2021: Canada put on a fight, but it was Brazil who won 3-1 (25-15, 24-26, 26-24, 25-14) to take bronze at the women’s sitting volleyball Paralympic Games tournament in Japan.

Canada finishes fourth overall, climbing from seventh five years ago in Rio. It was a team effort today with Heidi Peters (Neerlandia, AB) leading scoring for Canada with 14 points, followed by Edmonton’s Katelyn Wright (13), Danielle Ellis of White Rock, B.C. (12) and Jennifer Oakes of Calgary (11). Brazil got off to a strong start, with Canada showing promise winning the second set and leading for much of the third. In the end, Brazil’s experience won the day.

• Match stats: https://bit.ly/3jHlrWz

“Coming into this tournament, our goal was to be in a medal match and we did that, but fourth was never going to be enough for us,” explains Danielle Ellis, team captain. “I do believe that we came and showed the world that we are deserving of our place here at the Paralympics, and now we’re ready to go home and work hard to earn our spot at the podium in Paris 2024.”

Canada previously played Brazil, who also won bronze in Rio 2016, in the tournament opener going to five sets, losing by two in the tie-break. Canada went on to win its next two matches against Italy and Japan, but then lost to China in its semi, who are playing the U.S. for gold on Sunday.

Though the team is unsatisfied, it was an impressive tournament and learning experience for Canada: “No one is going to give you anything at the Paralympics. We have to learn to find ways to execute under pressure and win when it matters most. That third set is a perfect example. It was a major momentum swing and Brazil took advantage of it,” said Canada’s head coach Nicole Ban.
 
“With that being said, this group isn’t done yet. This is just the beginning of our path to the Paralympic podium. We have more work to do to get there, but we will be back!”

• CBC sports broadcast schedule can be found here: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/paralympics
• Official schedule and live score: https://bit.ly/3gxB5Sn
• Full roster: https://bit.ly/3joPhiJ

Media contact: Jackie Skender Photo: Canadian Paralympic Committee 

Men’s sitting volleyball team update

The men’s team – Lima 2019 bronze medalists – are building toward the next Games after missing a berth to Tokyo 2020. Calgary will be the site of the men’s sitting volleyball selection camp, Sept. 16 to 19 at Junior Varsity Volleyball Training Centre.

“Not only are we hosting current team members, but also are putting out an open call for athletes with the potential to be classified as a sitting volleyball athlete,” explains Kerry MacDonald of Volleyball Canada. “We’re encouraging athletes of all levels of experience to contact us to learn more about the potential of playing the sport on the international stage.”

The classification rules are as follows:
https://www.worldparavolley.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/World-ParaVolley-Classification-Rules-Jan2018.pdf

• For more information, please contact Kerry MacDonald