World number one Canada advanced to the Sitting Volleyball semi-finals with a win over Rwanda in Paralympic action, Monday at North Paris Arena.
Captain Danielle Ellis’s (White Rock, B.C.) team-leading 21 points powered them to a clean sweep victory (25-14, 25-17, 25-13) as Canada finished second in its pool with two wins and a loss.
Canada has now guaranteed it will get the chance to play for a medal once more — after losing in the bronze medal match at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.
“We definitely are building towards our winning style of play in this tournament,” said Ellis, afterwards. “This is a team that cares for each other, works for each other, and honestly competing for each other on every point.”
Julie Kozun (Melfort, Sask.) scored 12, Jennifer Oakes (Calgary, Alta.) and Sarah Melenka (Vegreville, Alta.) joined her in double digits with 10 apiece.
Star player Liliane Mukobwankawe led Rwanda with seven points, including four off blocks. She has achieved celebrity status in Rwanda as the country’s top player and due to her role in propelling them to the highest level in the sport.
Canada won every statistical category aside from blocks and points from opponent error, the latter of which they also struggled with in a loss to world number two Brazil on Saturday.
It was a close match, with Brazil winning three sets to one (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19). Canada simply made too many mistakes, losing in points off of errors 36 to 22.
The Canadian women are now -27 in unforced errors, something they will have clean up.
Canada will likely face China in its semi-final. The Chinese (2-0) close out their preliminaries Monday against France (0-2), and a win would secure them the spot.
Nation head coach Nicole Ban believes they will need to be more precise against the Chinese who have won consecutive silver medals at the Paralympics.
“We’re happy with the outcome and we know we need to get better,” said Ban, to the Canadian Paralympic Committee reporter. “China is a team that doesn’t make errors.
“They play a really strong system with great defence. I expect a real battle and we are going to have to play at a very high level to compete with them.”
Melenka – a Paralympic rookie – was a bright spot in the loss to Brazil, leading the team in scoring with 18 points. She now has 36 points in the tournament, second on the team to Ellis’s 49.
Canada and Brazil have each qualified for opposing semi-final matches, setting up the possibility that the top two ranked teams in the world meet again in the gold medal match.
World champions Brazil will play the winner of the USA vs Italy prelim match, which goes Tuesday.
After losing in the bronze medal match at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, Canada has now guaranteed it will get the chance to play for a medal again.
The semi-finals go Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern.
