Canadian women's volleyball team to play for 2028 Olympic berth Saturday

Top-ranked Canada can punch its ticket to the Olympics on Saturday, following a victory over Puerto Rico on Friday in the opening match of the women's volleyball NORCECA Continental Qualifier in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Canada beat Puerto Rico 25-16, 25-22, 25-10 to sweep the best-of-five match.

Canada led in attacks (42-32), aces (4-2) and gained more points from errors (17-12) and dominated in blocks 12-2.

"I liked the way the team played mentally, we were focused and we didn't lose the confidence even when Puerto Rico was ahead by many points [in the second set]," said Canadian head coach Giovanni Guidetti. "We are where we want to be and we're looking forward to another great and difficult match [Saturday]."

Canada will play either the Dominican Republic or Cuba on Saturday for an Olympic berth.

Kiera Van Ryk of Canada led all scorers with 20 points – 13 attacks, three blocks and four aces.