Canada wins final Paralympic sitting volleyball bid to Tokyo 2020

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Canada (29-FEB-2020) — Canada, ranked fifth in the world, claimed the final women’s sitting volleyball bid to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games with a decisive (25-21, 25-17, 25-23) 3-0 match victory over Ukraine, ranked fourth in the world, in the gold medal championship final at the Canada Games Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia in front of a standing-room only crowd.   Slovenia finished third ahead of Germany and Finland in the last chance qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.  Canada will join previously qualified teams from Japan (host country), Brazil, China, Italy, Russia, Rwanda and the United States for the Paralympics sitting volleyball competition to be held from 28 August to 6 September in Tokyo.

Canada led the way throughout the match, overcoming a close challenge from Ukraine in the third and final set.  Head coach, Nicole Ban, and her squad maintained the pressure and scored the final two points courtesy of Heidi Peters who ended the match with 8 kills and 1 block.  The Most Outstanding Player of the match was Canadian team captain, Danielle Ellis, who contributed 6 kills and a team-high 5 aces and kept Canada steady throughout the tournament.  Ellis was joined on the All-Tournament team by fellow Canadians, Jolan Wong (Best Libero), Jennifer Oakes (Best Server), and Sarah Melenka (Best Setter), along with Ukraine’s Olexandra Podliesna (Best Attacker), Finland’s Maria Vitala (Best Receiver), and Germany’s Mandy Kusel (Best Blocker).

In the bronze match the story was familiar, as Germany came out to a 2-0 sets lead before Slovenia recovered to even things up 2-2 forcing the tie-break set.  Germany’s Michelle Schiffler had a match-high 16 kills but was unable to defend the comeback effort in the reverse sweep by Slovenia led by their captain, Lena Gabrscek, who added 11 kills, 1 ace and 1 block.  Slovenia made fewer mistakes to claim the bronze medal by a final tie break score of 14-16, winning the match 2-3.

The final women’s sitting volleyball qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics was hosted by Volleyball Canada and Volleyball Nova Scotia in close cooperation with World ParaVolley, the international governing body of sitting volleyball worldwide.



View competition photos and other info…

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This page contains all you need to know about the World ParaVolley Tokyo 2020 Final Women’s Sitting Volleyball Qualifier. Here you will find:

  • Venue (Canada Games Centre)
  • Tickets
  • Media Accreditation – on-site please contact Jackie Skender, Volleyball Canada jskender@volleyball.ca or mobile +1-613-794-7676.  World ParaVolley Technical Delegate, Joe Campbell (United States).
  • Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Qualification Process
  • Tokyo 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Games Committee
  • Qualified Teams (as of 25-Feb-2020)
      • Women:  Japan (Host Country), Russia, United States (World Championships), China (Asia Oceania Zone), Italy (European Zone), Brazil (Pan American Zone), Rwanda (African Zone).  8th position awarded in Halifax, Canada.
      • Men:  Japan (Host Country), Iran, Bosnia Herzegovina (World Championships), China (Asia Oceania Zone), Russia (European Zone), Brazil (Pan American Zone), Egypt (African Zone).  8th position awarded in Edmonton, United States.


COMPETITION SCHEDULE – RESULTS – REPORTS

Daily Bulletin 4 – 28-Feb-202

Match record (as of 28-Feb)

  • CAN (6-0)
  • UKR (4-2)
  • GER (2-4)
  • SLO (2-4)
  • FIN (0-4)

Match results (as of 28-Feb)

  • Match 14 (Gold): CAN def. UKR (25-21, 25-17, 25-23)
  • Match 13 (Bronze): UKR def. GER (25-10, 25-21, 20-25, 20-25, 14-16)
  • Match 12 (Semifinal 2): CAN def. SLO (25-13, 25-9, 25-17)
  • Match 11 (Semifinal 1): UKR def. GER (21-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-19 15-8)
  • Match 10: CAN def. FIN (25-6, 25-10, 25-22)
  • Match 9: UKR def. SLO 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-9, 25-15)
  • Match 8: GER def. FIN 1-3 (27-25, 10-25, 13-25, 20-25)
  • Match 7: CAN def. UKR 3-0 (23-25, 20-25, 21-25)
  • Match 6: GER def. SLO 2-3 (25-21, 19-25, 25-16, 22-25, 10-15)
  • Match 5: UKR def. FIN 3-2 (20-25, 25-12, 20-25, 25-17, 15-7)
  • Match 4: CAN def. GER 1-3 (26-25, 21-25, 23-25, 22-25)
  • Match 3: SLO def. FIN 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-13)
  • Match 2: UKR def. GER 3-2 (24-26, 25-13, 25-10, 14-25, 15-5)
  • Match 1: CAN def. SLO 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-15)

Final rankings (as of 28-Feb)

    • First place (Gold + Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Bid) – CANADA
    • Second place (Silver) – UKRAINE
    • Third place (Bronze) – SLOVENIA
    • Fourth place – GERMANY
    • Fifth place – FINLAND