Team Canada is in the round of 16 in the women’s draw at the 2023 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Tlaxcala, Mexico. On Wednesday, the Canadian team of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson of Toronto, Ontario beat the Finland duo of Niina Antiainen and Taru Lahti-Liukkonen 21-17, 21-17 in round of 32 action.
Wilkerson led Team Canada with 17 points (11 attack points and six blocks). Humana-Paredes had 14 points with all 14 points coming from the attack.
With the win, Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes will face Esmee Bobner and Zoe Verge-Depre of Switzerland on Thursday. Bobner and Verge-Depre have already beaten one Canadian team at the 2023 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Mexico so far. To open the tournament on October 7, Bobner and Verge-Depre beat Sarah Pavan of Kitchener, Ontario and Molly McBain of Toronto 21-19, 21-15.
This is the first time that the World Beach Volleyball Championships have taken place in Mexico, and the second time in North America. The 1987 World Beach Volleyball Championships took place in Los Angeles. Team Canada has earned a medal at the last two World Beach Volleyball Championships, with both medals coming in women’s action. At the 2019 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Hamburg, Germany, Pavan and Humana-Paredes won gold. At the 2022 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Rome, Italy, Wilkerson and Sophie Bukovec of Toronto won silver.
