OTTAWA — The Canadian women's volleyball team dropped to 1-1 in Nations League action with a loss to the Netherlands on Thursday.
The hosts fell 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23) to the Dutch at the Arena at TD Place in Ottawa after opening with a five-sets victory over Bulgaria.
The Netherlands, ranked eighth in the world to Canada's ninth, dominated at the net with 13 blocks to Canada's three.
“Of course, we wanted to come out stronger today,” Canadian captain Kiera Van Ryk said after the match. “Playing against this team has always been a battle. We're very close in the way that we play and our rankings in the world. … We're fighting for that 8-9 spot most of the time. So it's always a battle with them. “We have a lot of new players and we're still trying to find our system. I think tonight really showed that. I am sure we're going to do a lot of learning over the next day, really try to prepare ourselves, to reconnect with each other, and to become more of a team.” Van Ryk of Surrey, B.C., led Canada with 17 points, including 15 off the attack. Veteran Emily Maglio of Coquitlam, B.C. had nine points.
Canada faces world No. 7 Japan on Saturday. The 18 participating countries aim to be among the eight that reach the quarterfinals.
“I'm hoping that we can take what we did wrong today and grow from that for our next game," said Van Ryk. “I think if we can continue to have a good mentality and still have more fight in us – I think that's one thing that we lacked today – if we can fight a little bit more together, I'm so hopeful for us in the future."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
The Canadian Press
