Canada opens world women’s volleyball championship with win over Cameroon

TRIESTE, Italy – Canada opened the women’s world volleyball championships with a 3-1 win over Cameroon on Tuesday.

It was a better start than the last world tournament four years ago when Canada failed to win a match.

“We felt a lot of pressure going into the first game,” said coach Arnd Ludwig. “We are playing in a very tough pool where Cameroon is probably the easiest opponent. So it was very important for us to win this first match. I think a loss would have ended our dream of reaching the second round right on the first day.”

Canada won the first two sets 25-12 and 25-15 respectively.

“We started the game very well and we put a lot of pressure on Cameroon from the beginning with our serves, said Ludwig. “This and our discipline in block and defence were the keys to winning the first two sets.”

But Ludwig says the Canadians lost control in the third set.

“All of a sudden we became nervous, and we didn’t execute the first contact that well anymore,”he said. “I am really satisfied with the way we played in sets one, two and four, but we need to improve our game if we want to have a chance against one of the next four teams.”

They sealed the win with a 25-14 win in the fourth set.

Kyla Richey of Robert’s Creek, B.C., was the top scorer with 17 points. Rebecca Pavan of Kitchener, Ont., had 16 points while Lucy Charuk of Tsawwassen, B.C., recorded 14.

Christelle Nana was the best scorer for Cameroon with 14.

Canada faces Turkey on Wednesday.