Canada falls to Germany in pivotal women's Volleyball Nations League game

Canada's women's volleyball team lost to Germany 3-1 in a pivotal Volleyball Nations League preliminary match on Saturday in Calgary.

The visiting side took the first set 25-19, the same score Canada claimed the second frame with. The Canadian women fought hard to mount a comeback, but the German team held its own to take the third and fourth sets with narrow scores of 27-25 and 25-23, respectively.

Playing in her hometown, Alexa Gray led Canada (4-7) with 26 points. Kiera Van Ryk of Surrey, B.C., added 22. Hanna Orthmann scored 21 to lead Germany (4-7).

Canada dropped from ninth to eleventh in the 16-team standings, seeing its chances of clinching a finals berth by finishing in the top eight dim.

The Canadian squad will get back on court on Sunday to face the Netherlands at 7 p.m. in their final preliminary round game.

The match will be available to stream via CBCsports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.

WATCH l WIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League: Canada vs Germany: