Canada opened Volleyball Nations League 2025 on home soil at TD Place in Ottawa, Ont. Wednesday, June 4, with a five-set, 3-2 (25-18, 25-12, 23-25, 19-25, 15-4) win over Bulgaria.
Team Canada, which includes 91原创's own Brie O'Reilly, came out of the gate strong, winning the first two sets.
But Bulgaria pushed right back, forcing the fifth set. Then, Canada closed out with dominance in the final frame, holding Bulgaria to just four points.
"I'm pleased because today I saw a great reaction," Canada鈥檚 head coach Giovanni Guidetti said after the match.
"The result is not important. I'm happy to win, of course, but I want to see a team that is fighting... When I start to see the team that falls for every ball and they attack with courage and aggressivity in the important moments, then that makes me happy."
Captain Kiera Van Ryk, of Surrey, led both teams in points with 25, 19 of which coming off the attack. Calgary's Hilary Johnson wasn鈥檛 far behind with 18 points and a match-leading 30.61-per-cent efficiency.
One of numerous first-time athletes on the VNL stage, middle blocker Nyadholi Thokbuom 鈥� also of Calgary 鈥� had 12 points in her debut.
鈥�(I was) very nervous. I think the whole first set I was shaking in my shoes,鈥� Thokbuom said.
"But the girls were really supportive. They made it feel like just another game鈥�. We've been playing this game for a long time and it's just another gym. It's just another tournament. So, it was good."
Canada鈥檚 next match was against the Netherlands on Thursday, June 5. Stay tuned for results.
The Volleyball Nations League introduced a new format in 2025 with 18 men鈥檚 and 18 women鈥檚 teams. Each team will play 12 preliminary phase matches over three weeks, with weekly pools of six teams competing across three venues.
All teams are vying for a spot in the quarterfinals (top 8). After Wednesday's game, Canada was ranked 10th.
