August 19, 2023: Today, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson lost in the quarterfinals at the Beach Pro Tour Elite16 in Hamburg, Germany, ending in a fifth-place finish.
In the quarterfinal, Melissa/Brandie faced Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Müller of Germany. In the first set, the Germans jumped out to an early lead, playing with the home crowd advantage. The Canadians fought back and evened the score toward the end of the set, but ultimately lost out 20-22.
Melissa/Brandie trailed in the second set, too, looking uncharacteristically out of sync. Meanwhile, the Germans found their groove, playing impenetrable defense, leading by as many as 11 points. It was just too much for the Canadians to overcome. In the second set, Melissa/Brandie fell 10-21, ending their tournament. Match stats here.
Melissa/Brandie, who won their pool in Hamburg, have been one of the hottest teams on tour this year: with a bunch of top-five finishes; a gold at the Challenge in Jurmala, Latvia; their big home win in Montreal; and a recent silver at an AVP event in Atlanta.
Melissa/Brandie were the only Canadian team competing at the Elite16 in Germany. This weekend, a lot of their compatriots – including Schachter/Dearing and Bukovec/Bansley – are playing in Volleyball Canada’s Beach National Championships in Toronto, vying for their share of the $20,000 purse. More on Beach Nationals can be found here. Sunday’s finals will be live streamed on VC’s YouTube channel.
Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676
Photo: Volleyball World
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