Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson of Toronto, Ontario captured one of their most meaningful women’s beach volleyball titles of their careers on Sunday as they won the gold medal at the Montreal 16 Event in the Volleyball Pro Beach World Tour. Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson defeated Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles of the United States 21-15, 16-21, 15-13 in the gold medal game. Wilkerson scored 27 points (21 attack points, five block points and one ace), while Humana-Paredes had 17 attack points.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson went through Pool D with a record of two wins and one loss. They lost their first game to Netherlands’s Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon, 21-17, 22-20, before beating Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy of Australia 21-18, 21-19, and beating Esmee Bobner and Zoe Verge-Depre of Switzerland 21-13, 21-15. In Canada’s win over Australia, Wilkerson had 24 points (19 attack points, three aces and two block points), and Humana-Paredes had nine points (six attack points and three aces). In Canada’s win over Switzerland, Wilkerson had 18 points (15 attack points and three block points), and Humana-Paredes had nine points (seven attack points and two aces).
In the round of 12, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson then beat Kelly Cheng and Sarah Hughes of the United States 21-19, 19-21, 17-15. Wilkerson had 28 points (23 attack points and five block points), and Humana-Paredes had 20 points (19 attack points and one ace). In the quarterfinals, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson beat Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth of the United States 21-15, 14-21, 15-8. Humana-Paredes had 26 points (24 attack points and two aces), and Wilkerson had 14 points (11 attack points, two aces and one block point). In the semifinals, Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes beat Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi of China 21-19, 17-21, 15-11. Humana-Paredes had 22 points (all attack points), and Wilkerson had 19 points (13 attack points, four aces and two block points). Chen and Xinyi won the bronze medal, as they beat Stam and Schoon in the bronze medal game, 21-17, 20-22, 15-12.
This was the second title for Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson in 2023. On June 18, they beat Bobner and Verge-Depre 21-17, 21-17 in the final of the Jurmala Challenge in Latvia. Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson also won the bronze medal earlier this year at the Ostrava Elite 16 in the Czech Republic. There they beat Nina Brunner and Tanja Huberli of Switzerland in the bronze medal game 21-16, 21-14.
It is the second straight year that Humana-Paredes has won an Elite 16 event. Last year in Jurmala, she teamed up with Sarah Pavan of Kitchener, Ontario to beat Barbara Seixas and Carolina Solberg Salgado of Brazil 21-19, 20-22, 15-7 in the final. The gold medals for Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson in Montreal will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
