Canadian girls snatch U19 Pan American Cup bronze with Empowerment support

Canada`s national team, which has benefited from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment initiatives, successfully claimed the bronze medal at the recent NORCECA U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup. This tournament was held on home soil at Queen’s University’s Athletics & Recreation Centre in Kingston, Ontario. The United States emerged as the champions, defeating Mexico in the final.

Volleyball Canada has received substantial support through FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, with allocations totaling USD 1,391,000 for national team coaching and an additional USD 75,000 for equipment. During the U19 Pan American Cup competition, the Canadian team impressively finished atop Pool B by securing straight-set victories against both Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Their only defeat in the tournament came in a hard-fought five-set semifinal match against Mexico, which ended 3-2 in favor of their opponents with set scores of 19-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-16, and 15-10. Canada faced another extended five-set battle in the bronze medal match, encountering the Dominican Republic once more. In a close contest, they narrowly won 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 19-25, 15-10) to secure third place.

In Pool A, the USA finished undefeated, with Mexico securing the second spot with a 2-1 win-loss record. The U.S. team then proceeded to the semifinals, where they delivered a dominant 3-0 sweep against the Dominican Republic (25-22, 25-14, 25-20). In the gold medal match, the USA met Mexico again and clinched the trophy with another convincing 3-0 victory, posting scores of 25-21, 25-22, and 25-21.

Following the top teams, Venezuela finished in fifth place in the final standings, with Puerto Rico taking sixth and Costa Rica securing seventh place.

Individual accolades were also presented. The tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award went to 14-year-old outside hitter Kari Knotts from the USA. She was also named to the competition`s Dream Team, which featured several standout players: setter Taimane Ainu’u (USA), opposite Julie Arias (Dominican Republic), outside hitter Ireland Real (USA), middle blockers Brenda Sofia Esquivel (Mexico) and Maya Bukovcan (Canada), and libero Valeria Gutierrez (Costa Rica). Other individual awards recognized Naomi Alejandra Cruz of Mexico as the Best Scorer, Julie Arias as the Best Server, Pamela Agosto of Puerto Rico as the Best Receiver, and Valeria Gutierrez as the Best Digger.