July 10, 2010

TIJUANA, Mexico – Canada lost to Puerto Rico on Saturday 25-18, 26-24, 25-19 in the fifth place match at the 10-country junior women’s NORCECA volleyball championships. The Canadians take sixth spot posting a record on one win and three losses this week.



The Canadian team was represented by the Brandon Tri-Star Storm the 18U and 17U national champions over the past two years. This was the last match for the players as a team as most will head off to university in the fall.



‘’It was a very emotional match for us,’’ said middle Erika Buchanan, who will play for the University of Montana in NCAA Division 1 in September. ‘’It’s been so great for us over the last two years. Everybody really played well this week. Regardless of the results here we kept working together and it worked out really well for us.’’



Two of the three losses were to the Dominican Republic which is in the final tonight. All the Canadian players were competing in their first international tournament.



‘’It was a wonderful experience for our players and it couldn’t compare to anything else we’ve gone through,’’ said head coach Derek Richels. ‘’To represent their country was very special and a great way to cap two very successful years together.’’

On Saturday, left-side Lisa Barclay and middle Meaghan Robertson led the Canadian attack with 12 and 10 points respectively.

The other team members are: Jen Dixon, Angelica Quiring, Courtney Roberts, Sarah Didychuk, Samantha Hutcheson, Chloe Reimer and setter Mary Thomson.



The medal matches are later Saturday. Cuba plays Mexico for the bronze and the U.S., faces the Dominican Republic for gold.





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For more information:

Louis Daignault

Volleyball Canada

Tel: (613) 824-9475

Skype: louis.daignault

E-mail: louisdaignault@rogers.com

Web: www.volleyball.ca

Facebook: Volleyball Canada

Twitter: http://twitter.com/VBallCanada