Two Surrey women are among 14 volleyball players chosen to represent Canada at the FIVB World Championships.
The tournament will be held in Japan starting Saturday (Sept. 29), with games continuing until Oct. 20.
Brianna Beamish and Kiera Van Ryk, both of Surrey, are on the squad, Volleyball Canada announced last Friday (Sept. 21).
Van Ryk, 19, a six-foot-two right side, went to Surrey Christian high school, while Beamish, 25, a five-foot-11 outside, studied at Earl Marriott Secondary before transferring to UBCO in Kelowna.
The Canadian team qualified for the World Championships after taking gold at the NORCECA Senior Women’s Continental Championship in Langley last year.
At the 24-team tourney in Japan, Canada is in Pool B with Turkey, Italy, Cuba, China and Bulgaria.
“The 24 countries competing in the 2018 FIVB Women’s World Championship are split according to the following: South America (two), Asia (five), Europe (eight), Africa (two) and NORCECA (seven),” says a Volleyball Canada release.
“The teams have been divided into four pools of six teams playing in a round-robin system with the top four teams in each pool advancing to the second round. The tournament will take place across four cities, with Canada’s pool B in Sapporo for the first round.”
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The full Canadian team roster announced Friday:
#1 Jessie Niles, Turner Valley, AB
#2 Autumn Bailey, Burlington, ON
#4 Kyla Richey, Roberts Creek, BC (team captain)
#5 Danielle Smith, Beaverlodge, AB
#7 Brianna Beamish, Surrey, BC
#8 Alicia Ogoms, Winnipeg, MB
#9 Alexa Gray, Calgary, AB
#11 Anna Feore, Stratford, ON
#12 Jennifer Cross, Scarborough, ON
#16 Shainah Joseph, Ottawa, ON
#19 Marie-Alex Belanger, Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, QC
#22 Megan Cyr, St. Andrews, MB
#23 Emily Maglio, Cranbrook, BC
#25 Kiera Van Ryk, Surrey, BC
Staff:
Head Coach: Marcello Abbondanza
Assistant Coach: Richard Schick
Assistant Coach: Vincenzo Mallia
Therapist: Giorgio Caiterzi
Statistician: Tommaso Barbato
Team Manager: Chrissy Benz
