TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 22, 2022 – Canada had to come back in each set against a tenacious Costa Rica and went on to win 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-22) at the Pan American Cup on Friday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Canada (2-3) will play Mexico (3-2) for fifth place and a 2023 World Championship berth on Saturday. Costa Rica (0-4) will play Peru (0-4) for seventh place.
Costa Rica had set point three times in the first set, but Canada held off the loss. Canada took its first set point at 26-25 and won on a kill by Taylor de Boer. Costa Rica led 23-19 in the second set before Canada scored six straight points to win. Costa Rica led 16-14 in the third set before Canada pulled ahead.
Costa Rica scored 39 points on Canada’s errors while giving up 19. Costa Rica led in aces (7-5). Canada led in spikes (50-24) and blocks (3-2).
De Boer led all scorers with 16 points on 15 kills and one ace. Sofia Vega led Costa Rica with 10 points on seven spikes and three aces.
Canada Coach Christine Biggs: It was frustrating to see so many unforced errors from the group today. Every match that we are in is an opportunity for us to learn as we progress later into the tournament in terms of body management and ability to focus and execute in all sorts of circumstances. I’m pleased that we get to advance into the next match. It’s a big one for us. But we have a lot of work to do.
Kareem Richards, coach of Costa Rica: “Very proud of these girls that showed that with the proper preparation and the right structure they are able to compete at this level. Canada is a very good team, very tall but the players followed our instructions and that is why played the way we did. The lack of experience showed at the end of the sets that we could not close. Even though we did not win the match, we got a lot of experience. Today, our team grew up a little bit more.”
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