Canada suffers heartbreaking loss to host Poland at women's volleyball worlds

Canada's third match at the FIVB women's volleyball world championship Phase 2 ended up in a failed comeback bid and a disappointing 3-2 loss to host Poland in Łódź on Friday.

The Canadian side found itself in a position to capture the win in the fourth set, but the attempt to win three straight sets after dropping the first one fell short.

Head coach Shannon Winzer's team lost the opening frame 18-25, but managed to edge out the loud support of the home fans to mount a comeback at 2-1 with commanding 25-19 and 25-16 wins in the second and third sets, respectively.

"We were able to put Poland under a lot of pressure and that's what saw us through to a fifth set," said head coach Shannon Winzer. "Our performance in the fifth set is not a reflection of how we played that game. We had a strong showing against a very strong side.

A 23-25 loss followed, however, helping the Polish squad recover its confidence and take the tie breaker, 15-5.

"As much as it's not the result we wanted, there are still a lot of positives to take from this match," Winzer said.

Kiera Van Ryk, of Surrey, B.C., led Canada with 21 points. Calgary's Alexa Gray added 20. Fellow Calgarian Hilary Howe tallied in double digits as well, with 14.

Howe scored three block points, a team-high in the match that served as half of Canada's.

Magdalena Stysiak had 25 points to lead the hosts. The 21-year-old had five block points. Kamila Witkowska and Agnieszka Korneluk, who added 15 and 12 points, respectively, registered six block points each, helping Poland edge Canada 20 to 6 in the stat.

Tournament hosts Poland win the 5th set and the match against Canada (25-18, 19-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-5) in a Phase 2 matchup at the 2022 FIVB Women's Volleyball World