SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 23, 2026.- Canada defeated the United States in five sets 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13) to finish undefeated atop Pool A of the 2026 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship at the “Prof. Ricardo Gioriver Arias” Volleyball Palace.
With a perfect 3-0 record, Canada secured first place in Pool A and advanced directly to Tuesday’s semifinals. The United States finished second in the pool and will compete in Monday’s quarterfinals.
The United States took a 2-1 lead after winning the first and third sets, but Canada responded by taking a closely contested fourth set 25-23 to force the tie-break. The fifth set remained even through 13-13 before an attacking error by the United States’ Stephanie Samedy gave Canada match point, and Alexa Gray followed with the winning attack to close out the 15-13 victory.
The teams were evenly matched statistically, finishing tied 67-67 in kills. The United States held slight advantages of 11-10 in blocks and 8-7 in aces, while Canada committed fewer errors, 24 compared to 26.
Kiera Van Ryk led Canada with 21 points, followed by Alexa Gray with 20. Hilary Johnson added 12 points, Nyadholi Thokbuom 11, and Emily Maglio 10.
Logan Eggleston led all scorers with 24 points for the United States, followed by Avery Skinner with 15, while Chiaka Ogbogu and Stephanie Samedy contributed 11 points each.
Giovanni Guidetti, Canada’s coach: “We did an incredible job on the court. These are two very high-level teams, and we managed to slow down the United States’ offense and close out the match in the fifth set. I’m very happy because we have a day off tomorrow.”
Erik Sullivan, United States coach: “We had a good attitude against the strongest team in the pool. We tried everything, and I’m very proud of that. I’m disappointed that we couldn’t close out such a hard-fought match.”
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