The Canadian beach volleyball pair comprising Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson secured a spot in the semifinals of the Montreal Elite16 tournament by defeating Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka from Latvia with a score of 22-20, 21-18 in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson demonstrated superior blocking and digging skills compared to their opponents, paving their way to the next round where they will face Brazil’s Thamela Galil and Victoria Tosta. The Brazilian duo managed to outplay Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg from the United States with a score of 21-17, 13-21, 18-16.
Having already clinched the titles in 2023 and 2025, along with an Olympic silver, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson are determined to continue their winning streak. Humana-Paredes mentioned that they will analyze the strengths of the Brazilian team based on their previous encounter during pool play to strategize for their upcoming match.
In a surprising turn of events, the Ontario duo of Sam Schachter and Jonathan Pickett caused an upset by advancing to the men’s semifinals in the FIVB Beach Pro Tournament. Ranked 39th, the Canadian pair defeated the world’s No. 1 team, Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson, with a 2-0 victory (21-19, 21-17) at Parc Jean-Drapeau. Schachter and Pickett, hailing from Richmond Hill and Wiarton, respectively, also eliminated Austria’s Alexander Horst and Paul Pascariuc earlier in the day.
Schachter attributed their success to playing solid and consistent volleyball at a high level, leading to their triumph over the top-ranked opponents. The Canadian duo is set to face off against Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho and Andre Stein from Brazil in the semifinals scheduled for Sunday morning.