Canada loses opening match to the Netherlands in women’s volleyball series

OSHAWA, Ont. Canada lost the first of a four-match series this week against the Netherlands 18-25, 19-25, 23-25 in women’s volleyball international action.  Both Canada (ranked 20th in the world) and Netherlands (ranked 12th) are fielding their top squads as they prepare for their respective zone championships next month.

Tammy Mahon of Holland, Man., was the top scorer for Canada with 13 points.

‘’We've been working hard during the weeks following the Pan Am Cup to improve on our weaknesses and tonight was a decent match for us,’’ said Mahon.   ‘’It will be interesting to see our improvement in the next three matches against a strong Dutch team.’’

Canada’s head coach Arnd Ludwig says his troops showed some competition rust.

‘’After five weeks of just practice I think we came out slow,’’ said Ludwig. ‘’We were more disciplined towards the end. We had a good third set but we came up short at the end. We need to play more matches like this to learn how to finish these matches.’’

The second match in the series is Thursday in Hamilton at McMaster University’s Burridge Gym at 7:30 p.m. Matches three and four are Saturday and Sunday at the University of Waterloo Physical Activities Complex. Saturday’s match is at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday’s at 3 p.m.

For ticket sales to the Hamilton and Waterloo matches visit http://maraudertickets.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event_listings.asp. School and group rates are also available for all the matches.

The match in Hamilton will also be webcast on www.sportscanada.tv. 

Canada's roster: