The Canadian women’s volleyball team had their Olympic dreams all but ended Friday with a 3-0 loss to the Netherlands in Volleyball Nations League action in Fukuoka, Japan.
Set scores were 26-24, 25-16 and 25-23 as the Dutch opened a 22.47-point gap over Canada in world rankings points with just one game remaining in the Paris Olympics qualification window for each team.
The Dutch are ninth in the world rankings and currently hold the final qualifying spot ahead of No. 10 Canada.
Canada, which has not qualified for the Olympics since 1996, next plays 19th-ranked France on Saturday, while the Netherlands takes on No. 34 South Korea on Sunday. Canada would need to take maximum rankings points from the French and hope the Koreans post a 3-0 victory over the Dutch to have any chance of moving on.
The final qualifiers for the Paris Games will be determined by world ranking position after Sunday’s VNL games. The Netherlands and Canada are vying for the final spot.
WATCH | Full match replay — Canada vs. the Netherlands:
Watch Canada face Netherlands at the FIVB 2024 Women’s Volleyball Nations League tournament in Fukuoka, Japan.
Seven women’s teams have already qualified.
Calgary’s Alexa Gray and Kiera Van Ryk of Surrey, B.C., each had a match-high 17 points, but Canada committed 24 errors to seven for the Netherlands.
Jolien Knollema led the Netherlands with 14 points.
Canadian roster
- Brie O’Reilly — Langley, B.C.
- Courtney Baker — Bridgewater, N.S.
- Emily Maglio — Coquitlam, B.C.
- Jazmine White — Oshawa, Ont.
- Alicia Ogoms — Winnipeg
- Layne Van Buskirk — Windsor, Ont.
- Alexa Gray (C) — Calgary
- Hilary Johnson — Calgary
- Andrea Mitrovic — Mississauga, Ont.
- Vicky Savard — Jonquière, Que.
- Kiera Van Ryk — Surrey, B.C.
- Shainah Joseph — Ottawa
- Julia Murmann — Toronto
- Kacey Jost — St. Albert, Alta.
WATCH | Will Canada’s women’s volleyball return to Olympics for the 1st time since 1996?:
The 2024 Volleyball Nations League campaign will determine whether or not Canada returns to the Olympics for the first time since Atlanta 1996.