Two Canadian beach volleyball teams were sensational on Saturday at the Elite16 Men’s Beach Volleyball event in Montreal, Quebec. In the process, Team Canada is represented in the semifinals of the men’s and women’s competition on Sunday.
In men’s play, Canada began the day with a 21-19, 16-21, 15-12 win over Austria in the round of 12. Canada was represented by Samuel Schachter and Jonny Pickett, while Austria was represented by Paul Pascariuc and Alexander Horst.
However, it was Canada’s next quarterfinal win that is making beach volleyball headlines on a global scale. Schachter and Pickett, who were ranked number 39 in the world, beat the first ranked team in the world, Jacob Holting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson of Sweden, 21-19, 21-17. Holting Nilsson and Andersson were the heavy favourites as they were the European champions and won the Brasilia Elite16 in May. Next up for Schachter and Pickett are Andre Stein and Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho of Brazil in the semifinals on Sunday morning. Andre and Stein are ranked 10th in the world.
On the women’s side, Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson won their quarterfinal match as they defeated Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia, 22-20, 21-18. Next up for Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson (the silver medalists from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris) are Thamela Coradello Galil and Victoria Lopes of Brazil. Canada is ranked ninth in the world, Brazil is second and Latvia is fifth.
