Canada's women's national team delivered one of the biggest surprises at the start of the 2026 Volleyball Nations League. In front of their home crowd in Quebec City, the hosts defeated USA with a convincing 3:0 (25:22, 25:22, 30:28) and recorded their first ever victory against the Americans in the tournament's history after four previous losses.
World No. 7 USA suffered a defeat already in their second match of the competition and now has a balance of 1 win and 1 loss. Canada, on the other hand, avenged their defeat to Germany in the first round and recorded their first win in VNL 2026.
The Americans failed to impose their pace in the match. The Canadians were more effective in all key elements, finishing with an advantage in attack (40 vs 34 points), block (10 vs 7), and direct aces from serve (5 vs 2 aces). The only statistic where USA had an advantage was errors ". 25 vs 29.
Key contributors to the Canadian success were Kiera Van Ryk, who scored 17 points, and Hilary Grey with 14 points.
The top scorers for the American team were opposite Jordan Thompson and outside hitter Simone Lee-Wang, with 9 points each.
The first two sets were under the control of the Canadians, who showed greater composure in key moments. The third set was particularly dramatic, in which USA led 20:14 and seemed close to extending the match.
The hosts, however, made an impressive comeback with an 11:4 run and reached match point at 25:24. The Americans saved several match points through Lee-Wang and Thompson, but ultimately Canada won the final two rallies for a decisive 30:28 and a historic success. With the victory, they added +15.81 points to the world ranking.
After the defeat, the Americans will look for a quick return to winning ways against France, while Canada will try to build on their success, which will certainly boost the team's confidence in the remaining matches of the tournament.
For the Canadian team, this is one of the most significant victories in recent years and a clear sign that the team is capable of successfully challenging the leading forces in world volleyball.

photo:volleyballworld.com