Yahoo Sports Canadian women swept by Thailand in Volleyball Nations League action
Canada dropped its second straight women's Volleyball Nations League match on Thursday, falling in straight sets against Thailand.
The Canadians, ranked 14th, appeared outmatched by No. 15 Thailand from the first set, a 25-17 victory in favour of the latter.
Thailand then earned a tight 26-24 second set before sweeping away the Canadians 25-21 in the third.
Alexa Gray, who scored 37 points in Canada's opening five-set loss to Poland, tied with Layne Van Buskirk as Canada's leading scorer with 10 apiece.
WATCH | Thailand upends Canada:
While Canada outscored Thailand on blocks, it fell behind in attacks and serve while also committing more errors.
"I do not think we were ever able to find our rhythm after a tense start. Thailand is always tough; they play a unique style of volleyball that is very difficult to manage if they are in system … and they are absolutely relentless on defence so can easily frustrate hitters," Canada head coach Shannon Winzer said in a release.
"I think we were slow to make changes and while we gained some momentum in the second set, we chased Thailand the whole game."
Canada's next game is Friday at 10 a.m. ET against 24th-ranked Korea.
This is the most pivotal VNL campaign for the Canadian women. It's the start of Olympic qualifying season and the squad wants to use the 16-team competition as a springboard to Paris 2024.
Winzer announced her 14-player roster last week ahead of the first leg of competition in Turkey. The second and third legs will be contested in Hong Kong and Bangkok.
The women's finals will be held July 12-16 in Arlington, Texas.
WATCH: Canada's women ready for another memorable run:
Canada, currently ranked No. 14 in the world, finished with a 4-8 record last year, 12th in the overall standings. Italy was the overall women's winner in 2022, followed by Brazil and Serbia.
The biggest moment coming up is the Sept. 16-24 Olympic qualifying tournament in China, where six of the 12 teams competing at Paris 2024 will be decided. Should Canada not qualify, it will have another shot based on world ranking.
CBC Sports and CBC Gem will have all of Canada's 12 Volleyball Nations League games streamed live and CBC Sports Presents will have select games on the main CBC network beginning June 4.
WATCH | Canada falls to Poland in VNL opener: