Two Canadian women’s teams are in the round of 16 at the 2022 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Rome, Italy. On Wednesday, Brandie Wilkerson and Sophie Bukovic of Toronto, Ontario defeated Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee and Taravadee Naraphornrapat of Thailand 21-16, 19-21, 15-12, and then Sarah Pavan of Kitchener, Ontario, and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Toronto, Ontario, defeated Taiana Lima and Hegeile Almeida of Brazil, 18-21, 21-18, 15-10 in two round of 32 matches on Tuesday.
Wilkerson and Bukovic, as well as Pavan and Humana-Paredes had not lost a set during pool play. However in their first playoff game, Wilkerson and Bukovic lost the second set, and Pavan and Humana-Paredes lost the first set.
In the round of 16 on Thursday, Wilkerson and Bukovic will face Karla Borger and Julia Sude of Germany. Borger previously won the silver medal at the 2013 World Beach Volleyball Championships with Britta Buthe in Stare Jablonki, Poland. Borger and Buthe reached the final nine years ago before losing to Sue Chen and Xi Zhang of China, 18-21, 21-17, 21-19.
Pavan and Humana-Paredes will face their second straight Brazilian squad. On Thursday, they will face Talita Antunes da Rocha and Rebecca Cavalcante Barbosa Silva. Antunes da Rocha is a two-time bronze medalist at the World Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship, as they were third in 2009 in Stavanger, Norway with Maria Antonelli, and third again in 2017 in Vienna, Austria with Larissa Franca Maestrini.
