China defeats Canada in final week of Women's VNL
ARLINGTON, United States, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The final week of the Women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) group stage continued Friday in Arlington, Texas, where China defeated Canada 3-1 (25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-23) in a hard-fought encounter.
Zhuang Yushan paced China with 21 points, while Wu Mengjie and Gong Xiangyu chipped in 18 and 14, respectively.
Canada's attack was balanced, with Abagayle Guezen and Anna Smrek each scoring 14 points, while Emily Maglio and Andrea Mitrovic added 12 and 11.
The opening set was tightly contested, with Canada staying within striking distance before China's Gong delivered a spike to take it 25-22.
Trailing 10-8 early in the second set, Zhuang turned the tide with three straight heavy jump-serve aces, forcing a Canada timeout. Chen Houyu carried on the momentum with three spikes after Zhuang's serves continued to disturb the Canadian defense. China surged to a dominant 25-15 set win.
Canada produced its best volleyball in the third set, riding heavy swings from its quartet of scorers, gritty digs and timely blocks to claim it 25-22.
The fourth set became a nerve-jangling sprint to the finish. With a successful challenge, Canada narrowed the deficit to 24-23, but Wu's spike helped lift China at the last moment to seal the set 25-23 en route to a 3-1 win.
Head coach Zhao Yong praised his young squad's resilience and their ability to adjust to the match's ebb and flow.
The Final Phase of the 2025 VNL tournament will be held in Lodz, Poland from July 23 to 27. With 20 points from seven wins and three losses, China has secured its place in that competition with two matches to spare.
Earlier on Friday, the Dominican Republic swept Thailand 25-21, 25-18, 25-23.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ottawa Citizen
an hour ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Redblacks let victory slip through their fingers to suffer third setback in a row
The Ottawa Redblacks survived three second-half turnovers but couldn't shake a bad habit Saturday night in Hamilton. Article content A late roughing the passer call on defensive lineman Michael Wakefield set the stage for Bo Levi Mitchell to connect with Kenny Lawler on his second touchdown of the game with 1:54 to give the Tiger-Cats their first lead of the game and a 23-20 victory. Article content Article content Article content It was the third straight loss for the cellar-dwelling Redblacks, who dropped to 1-5 while the Tiger-Cats improved to 3-2 and moved into first place in the East Division. Article content Article content The Redblacks, who led the league in penalty yards entering the night, were flagged just three times for 30 yards against Hamilton. Article content But the call on Wakefield was untimely, to say the least. Article content Leading 20-16 with time winding down in the fourth quarter, the Redblacks appeared to be in trouble when Kalil Pimpleton fumbled a punt that Hamilton's Mack Bannatyne recovered at the Ottawa 15-yard line. Article content But the Redblacks' defence rose to the occasion with a stand that resulted in a turnover on downs. Article content Dru Brown completed 24 of 38 passes for 283 yards, a touchdown and his first two interceptions of the season, both by Hamilton's Jamal Peters. Article content Mitchell was held to a quiet night, connecting on 23 of 41 for 266 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Article content Article content The Redblacks scored on their first possession of the game with a seven-play, 70-yard drive into the wind that ended with Dru Brown straddling the line of scrimmage before a 10-yard toss to Keelan White. Article content It was the first CFL touchdown for White, a 23-year-old North Vancouver product Ottawa selected third overall in the 2025 draft. Article content Three reasons why the Redblacks held a 7-4 lead after one half: Article content Playing in his first game of the season, Canadian linebacker Lucas Cormier came up big when he stopped running back Johnny Augustine at the Ottawa 10-yard line, forcing the Tiger-Cats to settle for a field goal late in the second quarter. Article content 2. While Brown completed 13-of-19 passes for 137 yards, the defence limited Bo Levi Mitchell to 13 completions on 22 attempts for 128 yards. Mitchell, who had surpassed the 300-yard mark in three of four previous starts this season, was coming off a five-TD pass game against Toronto.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Belgium edges young Canadians 25-18 in rugby test match
EDMONTON – Moral victories usually don't sit well with competitive players on losing teams, but Canada's men's rugby team accepted a 25-18 test loss to Belgium with an air of optimism on Saturday. Canada, which led 13-12 at halftime at Clarke Stadium, was undone by a clinical Belgian counterattack and some self-inflicted miscues at crucial times. Still, the squad felt good about its first showing under new head coach Stephen Meehan. Wing Josiah Morra, hooker Andrew Quattrin and replacement Siôn Parry crossed the try line for the Canadians, who fielded a youthful squad that included test debuts for fullback Brenden Black and substitute Kyle Tremblay. Halifax's Cooper Coats added a first-half penalty. Belgium — ranked one spot above Canada at No. 23 in the World Rugby Rankings heading into the match — made the most of limited opportunities, scoring three tries and adding a pair of late penalty goals from Hugo de Francq to keep the hosts at arm's length. 'It was a first run-out with the new setup we're running, and it's really exciting,' said second row Piers Von Dadelszen, who earned Teck Player of the Match honours. 'There's a lot we can take away from this — a few passes not sticking, and Belgium were awesome on the counterattack — but that's how we want to play. We're trying to bring a more exciting brand of rugby to Canadian fans, and we're looking forward to it all coming together going forward.' Canada opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a penalty-kick from Coats, before Belgium responded with a converted try from centre Florian Remue, set up by a line-breaking run from his brother Matias. A clever chip from Coats over the top led to Morra's first test try in the 22nd minute, but Belgium struck back three minutes later with a try of their own. Quattrin's try from a rolling maul just past the half-hour mark gave Canada a narrow 13-12 lead at the half, but the second half saw momentum swing repeatedly. A yellow card to Belgium's Remue appeared to give Canada the edge, but the visitors capitalized even while down a man, with Soenen finishing off a cross-field kick following an interception to restore their advantage. A pair of second-half penalties allowed Belgium to extend their lead, while Canada continued to press, eventually breaking through in the final play through Parry and ending the match with Canada's third and final try. Captain Lucas Rumball acknowledged the disappointment post-match but struck a note of optimism. 'We're pretty gutted,' said Rumball. 'We created some opportunities, but credit to Belgium — when we made mistakes, they capitalized. There's a lot of potential here. We just have to get things right and keep building. Thanks to the fans here in Edmonton for coming out and supporting us.' Saturday's match marked Belgium's first-ever victory over Canada in four test meetings and their first time scoring points against the Canadians since 2021. UP NEXT Canada will complete its two-match home series at Edmonton's Clarke Stadium with a clash against Spain on Friday, July 18. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Tides surprise Roses with 1-0 NSL road victory
MONTREAL – Daphnee Blouin scored in the 88th minute of a scoreless match to lift the visiting Halifax Tides to a 1-0 win over the Montreal Roses in Northern Super League action on Saturday at Stade Boreale. The Tides, who are last in the six-team Canadian pro women's soccer circuit, have shown signs of improvement in the past few weeks, but the road win over the second-place Roses has to be a highlight for the team's progress. The Roses controlled possession for 59 per cent of the match and outshot the visitors 14-10, including 6-5 on-target shots. The Roses had more corners (6-2) and more yellow cards (2-1). Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. In Saturday's late game, the fourth-place Vancouver Rise play the fifth-place Calgary Wild at McMahon Stadium. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2025.
