
Canada edges Dominican Republic to collect bronze in U-19 girls Pan Am Cup volleyball
Canada won the best-of-five match 3-2, taking the tiebreaker 15-10 at Queen's University Athletic and Recreation Centre.
The United States beat Mexico in the gold-medal final.
Canada led in attack points 58-50, blocking 10-4, while Dominican Republic had one more ace (11-10). Canada also made more errors 35-24.
Opposite Sydney Bell (16) and outside hitter Sol Henson (14) led in points for Canada. Ambar Hernández (16) and Julie Millaray Arias (13) were top scorers for the Dominican Republic.
'It was a great team effort for us,' said Canada's head coach Gina Schmidt. 'The Dominican team served tougher than they did in the previous match we played against them. We were in system a lot in our first match, and they added some service pressure today, which got us out of our rhythm with our offence.
'Once we kind of settled that down and put on more pressure from service from our side, we were able to work our way back into the match. I loved the way our team reacted in that fifth set. Everyone found a way to contribute, so that's important as we head into the next tournament.'
Most teams, including Canada, at the Pan Am Cup were using the tournament to prepare for the FIVB Girls' U19 2025 World Championship, which will be held in Serbia and Croatia in early July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Fernandez solves ‘setback' with opening-round win at Monterrey Open
MONTERREY – Leylah Fernandez needed a major confidence boost after back-to-back opening-round exits at the National Bank Open in Montreal and Cincinnati Open. The 22-year-old from Laval, Que., got it Monday night in Mexico with a 6-3, 7-5 first-round victory over Jaqueline Cristian of Romania at the WTA 500 Monterrey Open, where she is a former two-time champion. The seventh-seeded Fernandez, who posted on Instagram that 'I like to think every setback is just a setup for the comeback,' won the first set in 35 precision-filled minutes. Both players stayed on serve in the tight second set until Fernandez broke Cristian at 5-5, then served out to win 7-5 to take the match in one hour, 33 minutes. Fernandez, who won the Washington Open last month, advances to the round of 16 and will face the winner of a match between Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia and Victoria Rodriguez of Mexico. Cristian, who got stronger as Monday's match progressed, finished with five aces and three double faults. Fernandez had three aces and one double fault. Fernandez held an advantage on first serves, winning 86 per cent of her points on first serve, compared to 76 for Cristian. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Fernandez won two of five break points and took 24 points while receiving. Cristian had 23 unforced errors, 11 more than Fernandez. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.


Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Marino rallies to win U.S. Open women's singles qualifier, Branstine bounced
NEW YORK – Rebecca Marino of Vancouver started strong, faded, then scrambled to survive two match points before rallying to save her bid to qualify for the 145th U.S. Open Tennis Championships on Monday. Marino won the first set of her women's singles match 6-3 in 31 minutes against Lanlana Tararudee, but then lost 6-2 and was down 5-3 to the 21-year-old from Thailand before rallying for a 7-5 win in a match that took two hours, 11 minutes to complete. Marino had more double faults than Tararudee (8-6), fewer aces (9-8) and few games won in a row (7-6). But she came up big in the third set, breaking Tararudee at 5-3 and at 5-5 to engineer the thrilling comeback. Marion won four of five break points, while Tararudee only won four of 11. The Canadian won 67 per cent of her points on first serve, compared to 73 for her young rival. The 34-year-old Marino advances to play Mai Hontama of Japan. In other qualifying matches Monday, American-Canadian Carson Branstine won her first set 6-3 against Xiyu Wang of China, but lost the next two sets 6-3, 6-3. Branstine had 52 unforced errors in the two hour, 13-minute match and only one ace. Wang led in winners (21-18), aces (2-1) and double faults (8-3). Branstine earned 70 per cent of her points on first serve compared to 64 per cent for Wang, who won four of six break points while Branstine won only two of nine. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Branstine was born and raised in California, but she has dual citizenship thanks to her mom who is Canadian. Meanwhile, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., is playing Dino Prizmic of Croatia in men's singles qualifying action on Monday. Play in the U.S. Open began Sunday and matches will be held over 15 days and wrap up with the women's singles final on Sept. 6 and the men's singles final on Sept. 7. The defending champions are Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, who are the top seeds. Also in the field is Venus Williams, making her return to Grand Slam tennis at age 45. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.


Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sabonis supplemented to Canadian Pacing Derby at Woodbine Mohawk Park
MILTON – Sabonis was supplemented to the Canadian Pacing Derby on Monday. Sabonis's connections paid a $40,000 supplement fee. The four-year-old American horse has won 19-of-28 races and earned over US$800,000. Sabonis is trained by Brett Pelling and owned by Diamond Creek Racing and Pelling Racing LLC. Sabonis won the Grade 2 Dan Patch Invitational at Hoosier Park on Aug. 8. He sports a career mark of one minute 47.3 seconds. The Canadian Pacing Derby is slated for Aug. 30 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.