Team Canada courting volleyball success

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The Canadian women opened Week 3 of the 2022 Volleyball Nations League season knowing pretty much what they needed from the court in Calgary …

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Success on the scoreboard.

That in the form of least one win from their four-game schedule at Tsuut’ina Nation’s 7 Chiefs Sportsplex.

And maybe two.

“We’re fighting to stay in VNL for next year,” said Calgary’s own Alexa Gray, one of the leaders of Team Canada. “So it’s a pretty big week for us.

“There’s some challenger teams that have to lose, while we have to win a few games. Hopefully, if we win two or more, we’ll be good.”

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One might do it, too, depending on the scoreboard at the 16-team international event.

Canada (3-5) opened the six-day gala on the local court Tuesday night against Turkey (5-3), aiming to rise from the 11th-place standing with which they came into Calgary.

“We have to be pretty consistent,” said the 27-year-old Gray, a graduate of Calgary’s Centennial High School, the University of Calgary Dinos volleyball club and the NCAA’s BYU Cougars who now plays professionally in Italy.

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“I think we have to be very high energy,” continued Gray. “We have to serve tough and pass well. Hopefully, we can shock some of these teams and get them out of their comfort zone a bit.”

It won’t be easy given the lineup of nations Gray & Co. face.

After the Turkey tilt, the Canadians have respective games Friday (8 p.m.), Saturday (8 p.m.) and Sunday (5 p.m.) against Serbia (5-3), Germany (2-6) and Netherlands (1-7).

Belgium, Japan and the reigning Olympic champion American squad round out the countries represented in Calgary — one of two host cities making up VNL’s Week 3. Each of the eight teams here will play four matches — all at 7 Chiefs Sportsplex.

It’s only the second season for Canada in the Volleyball Nations League, which features the world’s top female volleyball stars.

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“We’re ranked low in the tournament, but we have so much potential and a high ceiling,” said fellow outside hitter Hilary Howe, the other Calgarian on the Team Canada roster. “So let’s approach every game like we can win it and compete.

“We’re going to be up against good competition,” continued the 24-year-old Howe, a graduate of Calgary’s E.P. Scarlett Lancers and the U Sports’ Trinity Western Spartans before turning pro in France this past year. “But I believe we can steal some wins this weekend for sure.”

Gray agrees.

“We need to stay together as a team since we don’t have as strong of a team as some of these other countries,” added Gray. “But as a whole, we can beat a lot of teams. With our home-court advantage, hopefully we can use a little bit of that to win some games.

“If we string a few really well-played games together, we can accomplish what we set out to do.”

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

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