The volleyball duo of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson recorded a historic victory in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
By defeating Spain’s Daniela Alvertez Mendoza and Tania Moreno Matveeva on the Paris sand, the Canadians ensured that they would have the best performance in the country’s history in this discipline. Never before had a Maple Leaf duo reached the semifinals in the women’s competition. Canada’s only beach volleyball medal in history, the bronze by John Child and Mark Heese, came when the sport was introduced to the Games in Atlanta in 1996.
PHOTO LOUISA GOULIAMAKI, REUTERS
Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes
On Tuesday, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson, the world’s seventh-ranked duo, quickly took control, winning the first set 21-18. The Spanish showed their teeth in the next frame, building two three-point leads, but the Canadians fought back to tie the game at 14-14. They then built an advantage they never relinquished, en route to a 21-18 straight-set victory.
In the semi-finals, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson will face the Swiss Tanja Hüberli and Nina Brunner on Thursday.