Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Toronto, Ontario won their opening game on Wednesday in the 2023 World Beach Volleyball Professional Tour Finals in Doha, Qatar. In straight sets, Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes defeated the 2023 World Champions, Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng 23-21, 21-16.
Humana-Paredes led Canada with 22 points, with all 22 points coming from the attack. Wilkerson had 14 total points. She had eight attack points, four blocked shots and two aces.
This was the third time Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson beat Hughes and Cheng in 2023. They beat the Americans 21-19, 19-21, 17-15 on July 29 en route to winning the Elite 16 event in Montreal, Quebec, and then beat Cheng and Hughes 21-18, 22-20 at an AVP event in Atlanta, Georgia on August 6.
Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson have now won six of their last seven matches. They reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Women’s Beach Volleyball Championships in Apizaco, Mexico before losing to Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy of Australia 22-20, 21-16. In the gold medal final of the World Women’s Beach Volleyball Championships, Hughes and Cheng beat Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Duda Santos Lisboa of Brazil 21-16, 22-20.
On Thursday, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson play teams from Latvia and Brazil. The win over Hughes and Cheng will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
