The Canadian duo of of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson wrapped up round-robin play at the beach volleyball world championships in Mexico with a perfect 3-0 record after a 2-0 victory (21-17, 24-22) versus the Czech pair of Barbora Hermannová of Marie-Sára Štochlová on Monday.
After the No. 4-ranked duo out of Toronto and their 22nd-ranked Czech counterparts both earned victories over the Netherlands and Paraguay over the weekend, top spot in the Pool D standings was up for grabs in Monday’s match, although both squads were still guaranteed a spot in Wednesday’s Round of 32 regardless of the result.
After winning the first set 21-17, the Canadians had to dig deep to earn the victory in the final set to cap off round-robin play with a perfect 6-0 margin in set victories.
Humana-Paredes denied three consecutive set point attempts by the Czechs with her play at the net, and Wilkerson was able to seal the deal with a block at the net to go up 23-22, and an ace that rolled over the net to take the victory 24-22.
Humana-Paredes secured 19 attack points in the match while Wilkerson outpaced the Czech Republic in blocks 8-1 by herself. Hermannová led the Czech Republic with 17 points.
The adversary for the Canadian pair’s Round of 32 match is still to be determined.
Both Canadian athletes have been on the world championships podium before, with Wilkerson winning silver in Rome last year alongside partner Sophie Bukovec, and Humana-Paredes combining with Sarah Pavan to win gold in Germany in 2019, earning a spot at the Tokyo Olympics for Canada.
The Kitchener, Ont., native Pavan was also in action on Monday with Toronto’s Molly McBain, closing out Pool H play with a crucial 2-0 win (21-19, 21-12) versus the No. 43-ranked pair of Puerto Rico’s Allanis Navas and Maria Gonzalez.
After a slow start to the tournament with a 2-0 loss to the Swiss on Saturday and a 2-1 defeat against the Netherlands on Sunday, the 60th-ranked Canadian duo needed a win on Monday to keep their tournament alive, and they delivered exactly that.
Throughout a close first set where Canada trailed for the majority of the game, Pavan delivered multiple spikes down the stretch to eventually put her team up and take the game 21-19.
Pavan delivered 21 points in the match overall with McBain securing 16. Gonzalez led Puerto Rico with 14 points.
The Canadians had complete control in the second set, taking it 21-12 to close the match out and guarantee themselves another game in the tournament with a third-place finish in Pool H.
The third-place result sends Pavan and McBain through to a lucky losers match on Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET versus the No. 81 pair of Ariana Estefania Vilela Becerra and Karelys Simisterra Ortiz of Ecuador, with the winner securing a spot in Wednesday’s Round of 32.
