Richmond, Canada, July 20, 2017 – Canada’s senior women’s team will make history this weekend, as the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix will take place in Canada for the first time ever, starting Friday and finishing Sunday at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
The Canadian national team, which is No. 19 in the FIVB Rankings, will host Germany (No. 13), the Czech Republic (No. 25) and Peru (No. 29) in an all-important Group 2 weekend. All four teams will participate in a round-robin format over the course of the three days.
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Latest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMedia Guides Canada has its sights set on compiling a best-ever Grand Prix Group 2 finish. A top-five result this year would mark Canada’s most successful Group 2 campaign. Canada’s previous best Group 2 ranking was sixth overall in 2015. The national programme, which enters this weekend with two wins from six contests, has never won more than two matches in any World Grand Prix. This is the third and final weekend of the Preliminary Round. The top three teams in the final Group 2 standings, along with the host Czechs, will compete in the Group 2 Finals from July 29 to 30.
After opening the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix with two wins in its first weekend, Canada, which has a 2-4 record and is ninth in the Group 2 standings, returns home looking to bounce back from three consecutive losses this past weekend in Puerto Rico.
Canada’s Elly Wendel enters the final weekend of the Preliminary Round with a team-leading 76 points, which has her 11th among all Group 2 scorers. Kyla Richey is second amongst Canadians in points, with 64.
Canadian middle Jennifer Cross leads the team in blocks, with 0.63 per set, while captain Lucille Charuk and Wendel aren’t far behind, each averaging 0.50 per set.