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Canada Beats USA for First NORCECA Gold 🏆
Canada went 5-0, beat the Americans for a fifth time this summer and won a title it had never won in more than fifty years of trying.
Canada beat the United States 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 15-10) in Santo Domingo on Wednesday night to win the NORCECA Women's Continental Championship for the first time in the tournament's history.
Cuba took bronze earlier the same evening, beating the Dominican Republic 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-18) in front of a home crowd at the Prof. Ricardo Gioriver Arias Volleyball Palace for its first medal at this championship since 2011.
Canada has been collecting medals at this tournament since the 1970s and had never collected a gold one. Thirteen came before Wednesday, two silvers and eleven bronzes, by the FIVB's count. Volleyball Canada's history page puts the two previous finals in 1973 and 1989.
The gold is Canada's 14th medal in the competition.
It is also a fifth win over the United States in five meetings this summer, a run USA Volleyball recorded in its own report of the final, and the second of those five to go the distance inside this one tournament.
Canada Won Both Sets That Finished Close
Anna Smrek led Canada with 20 points, 14 of them from attack, with five blocks and an ace on top. Andrea Mitrovic added 16, Abagayle Guezen 14 and Nyadholi Thokbuom 12.
Jordan Thompson led the United States with 15. Chiaka Ogbogu had 14 and Dana Rettke 13, and USA Volleyball credits Rettke with two of the four American aces on the night.
Canada blocked 16 to 15 and served seven aces to four. USA Volleyball notes that four of Canada's aces came in the three sets Canada won, which is where a set that finishes 25-23 gets decided.
The two federations do not agree on the fourth set or on the attack count. FIVB has the set 18-25 and Canada ahead 54-53 in attacks. USA Volleyball's report and event page both say 20-25, and put the teams level on 53 kills.
Both are official records. We are not going to pick between them, and neither federation has moved on either number.
Kacey Jost, Canada's libero, was named most valuable player and Guezen took best receiver. Cuba took four of the remaining awards on the strength of a bronze medal it had waited fifteen years for.
The Olympic Place Is Decided This Weekend
Giovanni Guidetti is Canada's head coach and technical director. He gave NORCECA this after Tuesday's semifinal win over Cuba.
"I think we did our job, and Cuba played hard as always. We expected a lot from them because they are a team that has improved a lot recently, but we were able to play with our fundamentals and close out the match."
Guidetti's appointment through the 2026 season was paid for by the FIVB. Its Volleyball Empowerment programme lists 1,533,500 US dollars in coaching support to Volleyball Canada, and it names the hiring of Guidetti as what the money bought.
Four teams now stay in Santo Domingo for a separate Olympic qualifier on Friday and Saturday. Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are in it. The Americans are out of it, already qualified as hosts of Los Angeles 2028.
Canada plays Puerto Rico first.
FIVB puts Cuba against the Dominican Republic on Saturday and Diario Libre reads the same fixture as Friday.
Two more wins in the same building and the Olympic place is Canadian.
