Canada’s women’s sitting volleyball team will play for bronze against Brazil today (Saturday) at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
It was undefeated China with the win over Canada 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-15) Friday in the semifinals, and the U.S. beating Brazil in the other semi-final contest.
“Growth, that’s what this is all about,” said Canada’s head coach Nicole Ban.
“Tonight, we had a chance to do something we’ve never done before, play in a Paralympic semi-final. China’s experience showed out there, but we are close, so close. These are the matches that we want to play in, and we’ve proven we can play against the top teams in the world. We aren’t done yet! It’s a quick turnaround but the team will be back to battle for a bronze medal tomorrow,” said Ban.
During the matches on Friday Julie Kozun, of Melfort, Sask., was Canada’s top scorer with 11 points, with captain Danielle Ellis of Langley earning six.
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The team will now quickly regroup for the bronze match at 4:30 p.m. JST on Saturday.
“If you told me we would be playing for a medal, after just squeezing in with our last chance qualifier (in February 2020), I don’t think I would have believed you,” said Ellis, a veteran player.
“But this team has shown immense growth in the last two years and we’re ready to compete for a medal!” she shared.
RELATED: Langley’s Ellis gets 11 points as Canada downs Italy in Paralympics seated volleyball play
MORE: Local putting big points on sitting volleyball scoreboard during Paralympic Games
For official schedule and live score people can go online.
And a full roster is also available by clicking here.
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