SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The Canadian women's volleyball team has dropped its opener at a last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament.
Canada, ranked 18th in the world, lost 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12) to No. 13 Puerto Rico on Friday.
"We had a lot of ups and downs during the match," said Canada's Kiera Van Ryk. "Our biggest problem was we couldn’t establish the blocking. At this level you need to block to win."
No. 10 Dominican Republic, the host team, beat No. 21 Mexico 3-2 (25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 23-25, 15-5) in the late game on Friday.
The winner of the four-team, round-robin tournament earns a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Canada hasn't qualified for the Olympic women's volleyball competition since 1996.
The Canadians face the Dominican Republic on Saturday and Mexico on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020.
The Canadian Press