June 18, 2023: Canada’s Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes won their first Beach Pro Tour gold medal as team in Jurmala, Latvia, today.

Canada defeated Switzerland’s Zoé Vergé-Dépré and Esmée Böbner 2-0 (21-17 21-17).

Although the Swiss duo put pressure on Canada with their serve, Canada out blocked (5-1) their opponents, led in attack points and made fewer errors.

"It was a really solid week of consistent play by us. We stuck together, overcoming some adversity and really enjoyed playing each point," said Humana-Paredes, who won this event last year with previous partner, Sarah Pavan.

"It’s been a long time on the road and we’re excited to go home to celebrate with our loved ones and get ready for the next one!"
 
Brandie/Melissa (both of Toronto, Ont.) also won a bronze medal at the Elite 16 in Ostrava, Czech Republic, earlier this month.
 
"I am so happy, this team has been working hard so it's so good to see it come out as a gold medal,” Wilkerson, who was named best blocker of the tournament, said in the post-match interview. "Every point we played as if it was the first point of the game until the very end. Our opponents are talented, and had a great tournament, so it was an effort to play against them."

Earlier today, Canada’s team also beat home country favourites Anastasija Samoilova and Tina Graudina in the semifinal 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) to advance to the gold medal match. Latvia ended up winning the bronze medal over Brazil’s Tainá/Victoria in a tie break (21-11, 20-22, 15-13).

This team was Canada’s only main draw entry in Jurmala. Australia won the men’s gold.

Also this week, at a Futures event in France, the team of Dunn/Furlan was Canada's top finisher with a fifth place in the women's tournament. 

For more information on the Beach Pro Tour, which counts towards Olympic qualification points, see the Beach Volleyball World web site: https://en.volleyballworld.com/beachvolleyball/competitions/beach-pro-tour/

This year, Canada will host two Beach Pro Tour events – a Challenge event in Edmonton (July 20-23) and an Elite 16 tournament in Montreal from July 26 to 30.

Photo: VolleyballWorld

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