Canada’s two-game winning streak snapped by Puerto Rico at Pan American Cup

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Shainah Joseph scored 13 points as Canada fell in straight sets to Puerto Rico on Monday at the NORCECA Women’s Pan American Cup.

The loss drops the Canadians to 2-1 at the event after a pair of weekend victories. Canada is in third place in the Group A standings with two round robin games remaining.

“Our bench was key to success in the last two matches,” Canadian head coach Arnd Ludwig said prior to the Puerto Rico loss. “All the players who came in did a very good job. I was very proud how my team stayed calm and composed despite the tight situations and managed to win.”

Michaela Reesor chipped in with eight points for Canada in its 19-25, 17-25, 19-25 loss to the Puerto Ricans, who have already qualified for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio.

The Canadians opened the tournament with a 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 25-21) victory over Colombia on Saturday. Joseph, from Ottawa, led the way with 18 points, one block and four serving aces.

Joseph followed up that performance with 15 points and four aces as Canada downed Venezuela 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 31-29, 25-21) on Sunday. Danielle Brisebois of Caledon, Ont., led all scorers against the Venezuelans with 16 points, including five aces.

The group winners advance directly into the tournament’s semifinals while the second and third placed teams head into the quarter-finals in the knockout rounds.

Canada has one medal, a bronze, in the 14 previous editions of the tournament.