August 25, 2025.- Canada and Dominican Republic secured their qualification to the Round of 16 of the Senior Women’s World Championship this Monday, with one matchday left in the Group Stage of the tournament being held in Thailand.
Canada survives Spain’s momentum in a thrilling five-set match
Spain was very close to pulling off a sensational upset against Canada at the 2025 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship in Thailand. Twice, in Monday’s Pool E opener in Nakhon Ratchasima, the Europeans took the lead, but the North Americans reacted on both occasions and finally took the tie-break to celebrate their second victory and move to the top of the pool standings.
After five sets of very tight volleyball, Canada came away with a valuable 3-2 (22-25, 28-26, 24-26, 25-15, 15-10) victory, a result that keeps them on track toward the playoffs.
Both teams finished level in unforced errors, but Canada outplayed Spain in all three scoring elements: 65-59 in attacks, 11-6 in blocks, and 3-2 in aces.
Outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic led with 22 points, including two blocks, while her teammate Hilary Howe Johnson, who delivered the final point with a deflected shot in the tie-break, added 19 points, also with two blocks. Canada’s middle blockers also reached double digits: Nyadholi Thokbuom tallied 15 (four blocks, one ace, and a 63% attack efficiency), while captain Emily Maglio finished with 10 points.
Canada will close the group stage playing against Türkiye on August 27 for first place in Pool E. Both teams are undefeated with 2 wins each.
Dominican Republic advances to the Round of 16 after 3-0 sweep over Mexico
Dominican Republic became the first Pool F team to qualify for the Round of 16 of the 2025 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship in Thailand. In Monday’s opening match in Chiang Mai, the Caribbean side defeated Mexico in straight sets and remain at the top of the group with a perfect record of two consecutive 3-0 victories. Mexico is still winless.
The Dominicans controlled the match almost from start to finish and ended up celebrating a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-20) win.
Mexico’s 25 unforced errors (against 14 from Dominican Republic) were a key factor in the result, including the final point of the match, which came on a missed serve. The “Caribbean Queens” also outperformed their rivals in attack (42-32) and in blocking (6-3). Team captain and outside hitter Brayelin Martínez shined with three blocks, one ace, and a 69% success rate in attack to total a match-high 22 points. Her teammate Yonkaira Peña added 11 points, all on attacks.
“We are very happy about qualifying. Reaching the second round was an important goal. Now we have to prepare for the next one, which is to finish first in the pool,” said Dominican head coach Marcos Kwiek.
“We prepared very well for this match. The third set was the hardest, but we know Mexico, we’ve played them many times, we managed to neutralize them, and I’m happy with the team’s good work,” Kwiek concluded.
The third set was the only one in which Mexico managed to hold the lead for a stretch of the game. Serving was the only scoring element in which the North Americans slightly outperformed their NORCECA rivals (3-2 in aces). Opposite hitter Sofía Maldonado was Mexico’s top scorer with 13 points, all on attacks.
Dominican Republic will face China on August 27 for first place in Pool F.
Match schedule Tuesday, August 26 (local time)
7:30 PM Puerto Rico vs Brazil
7:30 PM United States vs Czechia
8:30 PM Cuba vs Slovakia
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