June 17, 2022:  Brandie Wilkerson and Sophie Bukovec, both of Toronto, controlled their quarter-final match today to sweep Italy’s Marta Menegatti/ Valentina Gottardi 2-0 (21-15, 21-12). They will play in the semis tomorrow in Rome, Italy, at the Beach Volleyball World Championships.

"We weren’t even sure we would qualify (for the Worlds), so that was a win in itself," said Bukovec to Volleyball World TV. "And then we’re just taking every game step by step and enjoying the process, and if that means we come out with wins, then that’s amazing."

Next, Bukovec/Brandie will play Germany’s Svenja Müller/ Cinja Tillmann on Saturday at 2 pm ET.

Defending World Champions (2019) and Olympians, Sarah Pavan (Kitchener, ON) and Melissa Humana-Paredes (Toronto, ON) stormed into the playoffs unbeaten, until they were eliminated by Brazil's Duda/Ana Patrícia 0-2 (22-24, 14-21) in Friday's quarterfinals. They finish fifth in the standings. 

On Wednesday, British Columbians Megan and Nicole McNamara fought hard against Italy’s Scampoli/Bianchin, but lost the tie-break set and were eliminated, finishing 17th overall.

The Canadian men’s entry of Sam Schachter (Richmond Hill, ON) and Dan Dearing (Toronto) fell to Nõlvak/Tiisaar of Estonia on Wednesday. They also finished in 17th position.

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships are held every two years. However, due to the pandemic the last Worlds was in 2019, also in Italy.

Schedule & results here.
Watch: www.cbcsports.ca

Volleyball Canada media contact:
Jackie Skender
Mobile: 613.794.7676

Photo: Volleyball World