LEÓN, Mexico, September 18, 2026.- Canada secured fifth place at the 2026 Women’s Pan American Cup with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16) victory over Cuba on Friday at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato.
Canada faced resistance from Cuba in the opening set, with Evilania Martínez leading the Cuban offense, before securing a 25-22 win. The Canadians maintained their advantage in the second set, taking it 25-20, and Emoni Bush led the charge in the third as Canada pulled away to seal the match 25-16.
Canada held the advantage in attacks (44-34) and blocks (6-1), while both teams recorded two aces. The Canadians committed 21 errors, compared to Cuba’s 22.
Emoni Bush led Canada with a match-high 18 points, followed by Payton Henderson with 10. For Cuba, Evilania Martínez scored 15 points and Whitney James added 10.
Emma Boyd, Canada’s captain: “I’m very happy. We had a bit of a rough start with some service errors, but our coach told me a couple of summers ago that fifth is better than sixth. We came here wanting to show everything we’ve improved on this summer. We didn’t have the match we wanted against USA, and we knew we had earned the opportunity to play a match like that. I think today was probably our best match. It was very clean and clinical.”