Canadians celebrate after the victory over Mexico at Hershey Centre on Monday
Mississauga, Canada, May 19, 2014 – Canada team clinched the gold medal and a spot at the FIVB World Championship in Italy with a straight-set 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-17) victory over Mexico at NORCECA Women’s World Championship Qualification Tournament Pool S on Monday.
Kyla Richey led Canada with 14 points (12 attacks, and two blocks). Tabitha Love added 12 to Canada’s total. Andrea Rangel had 12 points for Mexico.
The Canadian women will also compete in the 2014 FIVB Grand Prix tournament this year.
Jamaica decisively took care of the US Virgin Islands to win the bronze medal. It took three sets (25-13, 25-10, 25-11) to relegate the Virgin Islands to fourth place.
Simone Asque led Jamaica with 17 points, and Tahleia Bishop contributed 13. Valissia Braithwaite had seven points for USVI.
“I think we had a good response to Mexico and we finally broke them down. For us, this is huge, we are a young team and we are rarely in a situation like we have today with the pressure of the finals. It was a very good performance; it’s a very important step. It keeps us motivated, and gives us more experience to compete at a higher level.” - Arnd (Lupo) Ludwig, Canada’s Coach
“We put in so much effort, and we haven’t had much time together because we’ve all just come back from our pro season. We worked so hard in the last two and a half weeks we had together. It’s so great to have our ticket to Italy. We’re back and our level of play was raised. - Kyla Richey, top scorer for Canada
“Congratulations to Canada for their ticket to Italy. They’re a very good team. I’m starting to think about the work we need to do with these girls. We have good players but we need to start working harder.” - Jorge Miguel Azair, Mexico’s Coach
“Unfortunately this was Canada’s best game and Mexico’s worst game. They’re such a good team.” – Selena Barajas, Mexico’s Captain