February 24, 2021: Volleyball Canada is pleased to announce the womens team has added assistant coaches Lauren Bertolacci and Vincenzo Mallia as well as performance analyst Pablo Sanchez to its 2021 staff.
“I am really excited about the new additions to our womens national team technical staff,” said womens head coach Shannon Winzer. “We wanted to prioritize international experience across all positions and find the right combination of individuals who would be able to hit the ground running with the short lead in time to Volleyball Nations League.”
Assistant Lauren Bertolacci previously worked with Winzer as part of the Australian womens team staff and is currently coaching in Switzerland. Before the pandemic, she led Neuchatel in the Swiss NLA to the Swiss Cup Championship, Super Cup Championship and League Championship.
Vincenzo Mallia (right) has extensive international experience and has worked with the Canadian womens team in the past as an assistant coach. He is also an assistant coach with the University of Toronto volleyball program.
Originally from Spain, Pablo Sanchez also works as a scout/analyst with Neuchatel in Switzerland and has worked with both the womens and mens National Teams in his home country.
The womens team will compete in their first-ever Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in a yet to be announced bubble location this year. Despite the pandemic, many team members have been successfully competing around the world in professional leagues.
Im confident that this dynamic team will bring the experience and solid support to help prepare the womens team for the international season, said Julien Boucher, Volleyball Canada indoor high-performance director.
The womens team is based at the Richmond Olympic Oval in B.C.
Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender
Mobile: 613.794.7676