ALAJUELA, Costa Rica, July 23, 2025. – Canada defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-20) to claim third place in Pool B at the U21 Women’s Pan American Cup, securing a spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament taking place at the Profesor Jorge Luis Solera Gymnasium in the Monserrat Sports Complex in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
Puerto Rico started strong the first set, but Canada quickly regrouped and turned the match around. The second and third sets were much more competitive and a complete contrast to the first.
Despite the closer scores in the last two sets, Canada came out on top, leading in attacks (40-28), blocks (8-2), and aces (6-2).
With this win, Canada will face the second-place team from Pool A (either the Dominican Republic or Mexico) in the quarterfinals on Friday. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, will play for sixth place on Saturday.
Canada’s Sophia Hansen was the top scorer of the match with 16 points (14 attacks, 2 blocks), while teammate Jessica Bergstrom stood out once again, contributing 11 points (5 attacks, 4 blocks, 2 aces). Jessica was once again the top blocker of the match, just like yesterday.
Chareika Carrión was Puerto Rico’s leading player with 11 points, all from attacks.
Ella McVittie, Canada’s captain, said: “I think this was necessary. We needed to fight back, and we did. I believe it was a full team effort. We talked about it before the match, about how everyone needed to contribute a little, and I’m happy we accomplished that today.”
Chareika Carrión, Puerto Rico’s captain, commented: “Honestly, I don’t feel happy at all. I know we prepared really well, but we didn’t give our best in every match.”
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