Oct. 10, 2023: At the end of pool play, all three Canadian teams – Sarah Pavan and Molly McBain, Sam Schachter and Dan Dearing, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson – are still alive at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Tlaxcala, Mexico.

Pavan/McBain will next play in a "lucky loser" match today, trying to punch their ticket to the playoff round. Meanwhile, Schachter/Dearing and Melissa/Brandie have already qualified for the round of 32, which starts on Wednesday.

In Pool H, Pavan/McBain posted a record of 1-2. The Canadians dropped their matches against 21st-ranked Esmee/Zoe of Switzerland and seventh-ranked Stam/Schoon of the Netherlands. But in their third and final contest of the main draw, fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive, Pavan/McBain dispatched Navas/Gonzalez of Puerto Rico 2-0.

Next up, in the “lucky loser” match, Pavan/McBain will test their mettle against Ariana/Karelys of Ecuador. That’s on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. local), with the winner advancing to the round of 32. A victory would help Pavan/McBain (currently ranked 60th) boost their world ranking.

Schachter/Dearing went 2-1 in Pool L. The Canadians dropped a tight three-setter to 14th-ranked Renato/Vitor Felipe of Brazil, before rebounding with convincing two-set wins over Sarabia/Virgen of Mexico and Abicha/El Azhari of Morocco. With that, they qualified for a spot in the round of 32.

On Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. local), Schachter/Dearing will be looking for an upset against 10th-ranked Hodges/Schubert of Australia. The Canadians (ranked 33rd in the world) are coming off a hot summer, with wins at the Volleyball Canada National Championships and the Futures event in Halifax.

In Pool D, Melissa/Brandie breezed through with a perfect 3-0 record, posting two set victories over Yakki/Mahassine of Morocco, Erika/Michelle of Paraguay and Hermannova/Stochlova of Czechia. Now the Canadians are headed to the round of 32.

On Wednesday, at 10:00 p.m. ET (8:00 p.m. local), they’ll face off against a yet-to-be-determined winner from the “lucky loser” round. Expectations are high for the Toronto duo, who recently jumped to fourth in the world rankings and look to be Canada’s best shot at the podium.

All of the Canadian matches will be streamed on CBC Sports. Find the full schedule and results on the Beach Volleyball World website.

Worlds are the penultimate beach event of the year, with the winners from each gender earning a share of the $1,000,000 purse and securing an automatic bid for their country at Paris 2024. The best teams on the planet are in Mexico, including defending World champions Ana Patricia/Duda of Brazil and Mol/Sorum of Norway, each looking to validate their number-one world ranking. The tournament runs until October 15.

Volleyball Canada Media Contact:
Jackie Skender
jskender@volleyball.ca
Mobile: 613-794-7676

Photo: @Buzzle.media