Canada outlasts Thailand 3-2 in women's Volleyball Nations League
Canada defeated Thailand 3-2 in the best-of-five match, played at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
Thailand won the opening set 25-17, but the Canadians bounced back with 25-23 and 30-28 wins to take a 2-1 lead. Thailand forced a fifth set with a 25-23 win in the fourth.
Canada won the tiebreaker 15-13.
Hilary Howe Johnson led all Canadian scorers with 25 points, while Emily Maglio had 19. Kongyot Ajcharaporn led Thailand's scoring with 27 points, while Kokram Pimpichaya had 23.
Canada committed more unforced errors in the match (24-20) and had more blocks (14-7). Thailand led in digs (166-144) and attacks (84-66).
Canada remains 16th in the 18-team preliminary round robin with three wins, while Thailand is 17th with just one win.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
Brothers in pitching arms: UBC's Ryan Heppner joins sibling Sean as MLB Draft pick
Teammates with the UBC Thunderbirds last year, siblings Sean and Ryan Heppner could be rivals on minor league mounds within the next season or so. Ryan, 20, was picked in the 19th round of this year's Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday by the Atlanta Braves. He is the 20th T-Birds pitcher ever chosen in the draft, joining a list that includes big brother Sean, 22, who was selected in the 12th round last year by the Cleveland Guardians. Sean is a right-hander currently working out of the bullpen for the Lynchburg Hillcats, Cleveland's single-A affiliate. The Hillcats' opponents in the Carolina League include the Augusta GreenJackets, which is a Braves' farm team. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The Braves could assign Ryan to Augusta to finish off this summer. They could have him based out of their rookie league team in Florida instead. It's hard to guess. The same goes for when Cleveland might promote Sean up the ladder. But you never know. What are the odds of brothers from Richmond getting drafted in the first place? 'When I got to UBC, we finally got to play on the same team, but never before have we played against each other. I think it would be a lot of fun,' Ryan said Tuesday. 'We're both really competitive. I think if we were both pitching against each other that would be the best experience. 'This has been my dream, too, but to follow in his footsteps all the way is the coolest thing ever.' ⚾️ BASE | Massive congratulations to @ubc_baseball pitcher Ryan Heppner on being drafted by the Atlanta Braves! 👏🤩 Heppner becomes the 33rd Thunderbird drafted or signed by an MLB team, joining his brother Sean, who was taken by the Cleveland Guardians last year. ⚾️🔥 The brothers were both born on this side of the border, but the family has lived for much of their lives in Point Roberts, Wash., which is tied to having an American mother and Canadian father. Ryan's the youngest of five siblings. He is a Vancouver College graduate. He played his minor baseball with the Tsawwassen Athletics, Delta Tigers and then the Delta Blue Jays before moving to UBC. He's a 6-foot, 190-pound right-hander who had a 7-2 record to go with a 4.38 earned run average in 15 appearances with UBC this season, including 14 starts. He allowed 70 hits in 74 innings, while striking out 77 and walking 24. 'I don't know what life is going to be like without the Heppners. There's not enough of them,' laughed UBC head coach Chris Pritchett. 'They're both phenomenal students and value education. They are both going to be civil engineers one day. These guys are 90 per cent-plus students. And they're tremendous athletes. 'This is where Sean really wanted to come, and I think Ryan wanted to play on his team one day. It wasn't as tough (recruiting them) as it would be normally be with their talent level.' UBC went 39-19 this past season, marking the most wins for the program in nearly a decade. They also advanced to the NAIA World Series for the second time in their 28-year history. They were eliminated in two games. After the draft on Tuesday, UBC outfielder Jonny McGill, 23, who is also from Richmond, signed a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound left-handed hitting McGill batted .405 in 57 games with UBC, and recorded 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in. He also stole 17 bases. That gives UBC 34 players who have either been drafted or signed by big-league clubs. And, keep in mind, baseball has scaled back its minor-league systems. It dropped 43 farm teams from affiliate status during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, looking to both cut costs and streamline development. The MLB Draft, too, has been to moved to 20 rounds from its previous traditional 40-round. For further perspective, there were 615 players taken in this year's draft when you add in extra selections for things like losing free agents. That's down from 1,217 total selections in 2019. 'Obviously there was some concern for that for us, knowing that was going to be a harder path,' Pritchett said of the shrinking minor league system. 'It always was a part of the recruiting process. It's always been 'Come here and get a great education but you'll still have an opportunity to go play pro ball.' What these guys have done pretty phenomenal. You're going right to high-A now from this level, and that means people think you have a chance. 'I'm really thrilled how it's gone for us the last couple of years.' Heading into action Tuesday, Sean Heppner was 4-1, with a 4.95 earned run average, in 24 relief appearances with Lynchburg. He has allowed 20 hits in 31 innings, while striking out 27 and walking 26. Congratulations to Cam Leiter RHP on being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round. @camleiter #ProBlaze The Toronto Blue Jays, whose high-A farm team is the Vancouver Canadians, made a couple of B.C. picks , taking Abbotsford righty Micah Buckham, who is at Dallas Baptist University, in the fourth round, and Coquitlam third baseman Tim Piasentin, who is with the Alberta's Okotoks Dawgs Academy, in the fifth round. Florida State righty Cam Leiter, who was born New Jersey but lived in Maple Ridge for a decade and played for the Langley Blaze program, went in the second round to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Other picks with B.C. ties include righty Carson Latimer (Delta/Sacramento State) going in the 12th round to the Cincinnati Reds; righty Tyrelle Chadwick (Kamloops/Illinois State) going in the 18th round to the Colorado Rockies; lefty Hayden Cuthbertson (Ladner/Miami-Ohio) going in the 18th round to the Miami Marlins; and lefty Shane Brinham (North Vancouver/North Shore Twins) going to the Dodgers with the final selection of the draft in the 20th round. @SteveEwen SEwen@
Toronto Star
3 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Rookie Devin Veresuk quickly showing why Ticats drafted him second overall this year
HAMILTON - It didn't take Devin Veresuk long to force the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' hand. When Hamilton selected the Windsor Lancers linebacker with the second pick of the 2025 CFL draft, it was clearly with the intent that Veresuk would develop into a starter down the line. But the future became a reality just two games into the season when the Ticats made the bold move of releasing veteran American Kyle Wilson and replacing him with the six-foot-two, 240-pound Canadian rookie.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rookie Devin Veresuk quickly showing why Ticats drafted him second overall this year
HAMILTON – It didn't take Devin Veresuk long to force the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' hand. When Hamilton selected the Windsor Lancers linebacker with the second pick of the 2025 CFL draft, it was clearly with the intent that Veresuk would develop into a starter down the line. But the future became a reality just two games into the season when the Ticats made the bold move of releasing veteran American Kyle Wilson and replacing him with the six-foot-two, 240-pound Canadian rookie. 'He'd had a week where it just looked like it clicked and he was becoming very instinctive,' said Ticats head coach Scott Milanovich. 'That's kind of when we decided it was time. 'I mean there's some mistakes … but he's very natural, a very good tackler and has the physical skills to chase things down if he does make a mistake. He does little stuff that's hard to teach and I think he's going to be a good one.' Coincidentally, Hamilton (3-2) hasn't lost since the move. It has reeled off three straight wins to move into a tie with Montreal (3-2) atop the East Division. Veresuk had a pick-six in his CFL debut and has led the team in tackles in both of his first two games. 'I thought I'd get an opportunity at some point but I didn't realize how quickly it was going to come,' Veresuk said. 'That being said, I had to step up to the plate and show I can do it. 'The guys have definitely helped settle me in, get used to it and into the swing of things but it has been a bit of an adjustment, for sure.' Wilson, who quickly caught on with the Calgary Stampeders, remains tied with safety Stavros Katsantonis for the Ticats' team lead in total tackles (23 each). Veresuk is tied with cornerback Jamal Peters for fourth at 21, one behind fellow linebacker Rayshawn Wilborn. Hamilton will chase a fourth straight win over an East team when it completes its home-and-home series with Ottawa (1-5) on Sunday night at TD Place. The Ticats earned a 23-20 victory Saturday night at Hamilton Stadium. Veresuk registered 160 total tackles (14 for loss), nine sacks, two forced fumbles and a pick-six in 22 games at Windsor. He also posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.47 seconds at the University of Buffalo's pro day while also registering 27 reps in the 225-pound bench press, a 4.47-second short shuttle and 7.19-second three-cone drill. Those results helped land Veresuk an invitation to the Indianapolis Colts rookie mini-camp. He ultimately signed with Hamilton on May 14, two days after the start of its training camp. It didn't take Veresuk long to reward the Ticats' faith in him. He had a team-high nine tackles (eight defensive, one special-teams) and a 36-yard interception return TD in his first CFL start, a 35-17 win over then-unbeaten Montreal on June 27. Veresuk followed up with eight tackles (one for loss) to lead the defence in Hamilton's 51-38 victory over Toronto on July 4. Last week versus Ottawa, veteran Reggie Stubblefield registered a team-high seven tackles (one for loss) in his Ticats debut as Veresuk finished with three. Veresuk admits the last month has been somewhat of a whirlwind but credits Wilborn with helping him through the rough patches. The arrival of Stubblefield — last week was his first CFL game since suffering a season-ending knee injury in Montreal's '24 opener — has also provided immediate benefits. 'Ray has probably been my top guy; he's been helping me out,' Veresuk said. 'Any time I make a mistake or tend to beat myself up, he has helped pick me up and helped keep my chin up. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'Reggie brings energy, confidence and communication. He talks a lot pre-snap and that helps me quite a bit.' Predictably, the biggest adjustment Veresuk has faced is the speed of the CFL game. 'It's professional players that I'm going up against, some of the best football players in the world,' he said. 'Also, there's just how finite the differences are between winning and losing games. 'It really does come down to four, five plays and just being on the better side of those plays. If I prepare during the week, on weekends the game slows down a bit.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025.
