The Canadian women’s team came close, very close to cracking the top 8 and causing an upset at the World Volleyball Championship. Summary of an eventful week in Lodz, Poland.
Posted at 7:37 p.m.
With a 3-1 win over Thailand on Tuesday, followed by a 3-0 loss to mighty Turkey 24 hours later, hopes were high for the Maple Leaf clan, who were aiming for a spot in the next round. .
The biggest test, however, was still to come against the Poles on Friday, with fourth place in Group F at stake, the last place giving access to the goal. The Canadians answered the call at the start of the game and they held their opponents in the cables with a 2-1 lead (18-25, 25-19 and 25-16).
But that’s when the tide turned.
Little by little, the host team took advantage of the energy of the crowd to pick up the pace and eventually win the last two sets (25-23 and 15-5), slipping away with the important victory. “It was difficult, especially in the fifth set,” said Vicky Savard about this heartbreaking defeat, during a telephone interview with Sportcom.
“We really believed in it, we wanted to win, but we lost the momentum at the wrong time and after that, we were never able to come back. It was frustrating and disappointing at the same time, because we were really close to the goal. »
Mathematically, Shannon Winzer’s squad, which also included Kim Robitaille among its ranks, needed a real miracle on Saturday to hope to advance to the next round. But she still had motivation for her final game against rivals and NORCECA conference champions, the Dominican Republic.
“It’s always a challenge to play against the Dominican Republic and we wanted to end on a good note,” continued Savard. We knew we could get important points for the world ranking against a good opponent, so we took advantage of a few hours of rest to dispel the bitterness and get back on a good footing for the last match. »
The least we can say is that the night was beneficial for the Canadians who, despite a slow start, managed to come out on top to win in five sets of 18-25. , 25-23, 17-25, 25-27 and 15-7.
“We were patient and we never panicked. We were in control and we could dictate the pace in the final set, unlike the day before. We learned quickly and it paid off for this last match. It was good to be able to finish our tournament in fun! analyzed the volleyball player from Val-des-Monts.
In the end, this fifth victory in nine outings was not enough to bring about the hoped-for miracle. However, she put an exclamation point on an inspiring fortnight for Canada, which made sure to finish among the top 10 of the ranking which will be determined at the end of the last meetings of the second phase scheduled for Sunday.
And, beyond the numbers, the Canadian performance will have the effect of fanning its flame even more for the qualification process that will lead the various nations to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“We have proven that we have what it takes to beat the right formations and that Canada is a world force in the making. The other teams can no longer take us lightly and we are here to fight for an Olympic place. We have worked very hard in the last few months and we want to pick up where we left off next summer,” concluded Vicky Savard.