Sept. 30, 2023: Today, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson (ranked 7th in the world) were eliminated in the quarterfinal at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 in Paris, France. With the loss, the Canadians settled for a respectable fifth-place finish at the tournament, which features the best of the best in beach volleyball.
Early Saturday, in the round of 12, Melissa/Brandie went up against 16th-ranked Muller/Tillman of Germany. Last month, the Canadians suffered a bitter defeat to the Germans in the quarterfinals at the Hamburg Elite 16. But things were different this time around. Melissa/Brandie came battle ready, edging the Germans out in attack and block, en route to a dramatic three-set victory (21-14, 19-21, 15-11).
With the win, the Canadians advanced to the quarterfinals, putting themselves among the hottest teams on tour. Also in the quarters: first-ranked Duda/Ana Patricia of Brazil, second-ranked Hughes/Cheng of the U.S., third-ranked Kloth/Nuss of the U.S. and fourth-ranked Carol/Barbara of Brazil.
In the quarter, Melissa/Brandie came up against top-ranked Duda/Ana Patricia of Brazil, looking for an upset. But the Canadians couldn’t conquer the reigning queens of women’s beach, bowing down in two sets (21-10, 21-19).
Despite the loss, a fifth-place finish bodes well for Melissa/Brandie, who firmed up their top-10 ranking and improved their shot at qualifying for Paris 2024. The top 17 teams per gender in the world ranking will automatically qualify for the upcoming Olympics.
Catch all of the matches from this tournament at VBTV or www.cbcsports.ca. Full schedule and results can be found here.
Melissa/Brandie have been dynamite since teaming up late last year, consistently finishing in the top five at international tournaments and winning gold at the Elite 16 in Montreal.
Their next challenge is just around the corner. Starting October 6, three Canadian teams – Melissa/Brandie, Sam Schachter and Dan Dearing, Sarah Pavan and Molly McBain – will be competing at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
In 2019, then partners Humana-Paredes and Pavan won the Worlds. It’s the penultimate event of the year, with sky-high stakes: the men’s and women’s winners will earn a share of the $1,000,000 purse and secure a bid for Paris 2024. Full schedule and results for Tlaxcala can be found here.
Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676
Photo: Volleyball World
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