Canadian women's volleyball team beats Mexico but fails to clinch Olympic spot

Canada's women's volleyball team scored a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-17) win over Mexico on Saturday, but fell short in its bid to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Canadian attack was led by Kiera Van Ryk of Surrey, B.C. (17 points), Alexa Gray (13) and Hilary Howe (12), both of Calgary, and Emily Maglio of Coquitlam, B.C. (11).
Canada improved to 4-2 with the victory, but it's not enough for entry into the Paris Games.
Serbia and Dominican Republic, both with 5-1 records, have all but secured the top two spots with one day remaining at the Olympic qualification tournament. Canada is in fourth place in Pool A with 11 points, trailing Serbia and Dominican Republic by four points each.
Only the top two teams in the pool qualify and Canada can only pick up a maximum of three points in their final game against Czechia on Sunday.
"We did what we needed to do to come out on top today against Mexico," said Canada coach Shannon Winzer. "Every team has a difficult schedule with seven games in nine days, but I would argue this is the toughest pool across these Olympic qualifiers so being able to pull out a three-set win today was not easy and we were able to get the job done. Sometimes that just has to be enough."
Netherlands, also at 4-2 but one point ahead of Canada, will face Dominican Republic on Sunday.
Six teams from the qualifying tournament will join host France at next year's Olympics.
Five more countries can earn berths next summer through world rankings, meaning Canada can still qualify for Paris with a successful Volleyball Nations League season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

U.S. assassination attempt charges 'confirm' Trudeau's claims about India had 'real substance,' former national security advisers say
The indictment of an Indian national for the attempted assassination of a Sikh separatist and dual U.S.-Canadian national 'validates' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations that the Indian government may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen as having 'real substance,' according to two of Canada's former national security advisers.
Bonnie Crombie wins Ontario Liberal leadership after 3 rounds of voting
Ontario Liberals have selected Bonnie Crombie, a three-term big city mayor and former MP who boasts that she gets under the skin of Premier Doug Ford, as their next leader to go head to head with the premier in the next provincial election.
Trump calls Biden the 'destroyer' of democracy despite his own efforts to overturn 2020 election
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Saturday attempted to turn the tables on his likely rival in November, President Joe Biden, arguing that the man whose election victory Trump tried to overturn is "the destroyer of American democracy."
Search for runaway kangaroo in Ontario continues
The search continues for the kangaroo that is hopping around somewhere in Ontario after it escaped zoo handlers from a transport truck Thursday night.
What was a hospital like in medieval times? Researchers analyzed 400 skeletons to find out
In medieval times, hospitals took care of the 'poor and infirm,' but how were inhabitants selected and what were their lives like? Researchers analyzed 400 skeletons to find out.
James Webb Telescope confirms existence of massive dusty galaxy from early universe
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed the existence of a massive, dusty, star-forming galaxy which was first spotted years ago by a ground telescope, but was completely invisible to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Rocky planets may be able to form under more high-stress scenarios than previously known: study
A study of one of the most extreme, radiation-heavy environments in the universe has found that it might be possible for rocky planets comprised of water, carbon and other familiar molecules to form under far more intense circumstances than previously believed.
Teen girls are being victimized by deepfake nudes. One family is pushing for more protections
A mother and her 14-year-old daughter are advocating for better protections for victims after AI-generated nude images of the teen and other female classmates were circulated at a high school in New Jersey.
7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and a tsunami warning is issued
A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck Saturday off the cost of the southern Philippines island of Mindanao and Philippine authorities issued a tsunami warning.