July 22, 2023: Two Canadian women’s teams—Sarah Pavan/Molly McBain and Heather Bansley/Sophie Bukovec—competed in the playoff round at the Beach Pro Tour Challenge in Edmonton, Alberta, but both suffered straight-set defeats, eliminating Canada from the tournament.
Early in the day, in the round of 18, Pavan/McBain lost a two-setter (12-21, 14-21) to Brazil’s Agatha/Rebecca – stats here. The Canadians played the same Brazilian squad last week at the Challenge in Espinho, Portugal.
“We played a lot better in Portugal, losing in three sets,” said McBain, who just teamed up with two-time Olympian Pavan this year. “But we’re learning a lot. Hopefully, we can go back, watch the video and see what we can improve on.”
Next week, Pavan/McBain will compete in the main draw of the Elite16 event in Montreal, Quebec, going head-to-head with the top teams in the world. Their first match is against the American duo of Kloth/Nuss at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 27. In Montreal, Pavan/McBain will look to improve on this 17th place finish in Edmonton.
“I think we gained some good experience here. The more games we play together, the better,” said McBain. “Hopefully, we can improve on this result in Montreal. We’re looking forward to it.”
Later in the day, in the round of 16, Heather Bansley/ Sophie Bukovec matched up against the Swiss squad of Esmée/Zoé. It was a similar result. Despite putting up a good fight in the first set, the Canadians lost out in two (21-23, 16-21), bringing their tournament to an end.
Bansley and Bukovec finished 9th overall, Canada’s top finish here in Edmonton.
Action continues Saturday and Sunday at Edmonton’s ICE District.
This year, Canada hosts three Beach Pro Tour events – this Challenge event in Edmonton (July 20-23) and an Elite 16 tournament in Montreal from July 26 to 30 as well as a Futures event in Halifax in September.
Full results here: https://en.volleyballworld.com/beachvolleyball/competitions/beach-pro-tour/2023/challenge/edmonton-can/schedule/
