Canadians continue success at FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships
Volleyball Canada’s men and women continue to impress at the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball Championships in Vienna with all four pairings left making it through to the next phase of their tournaments.
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On the women’s side, Sarah Pavan and partner Melissa Humana-Paredes are headed to the quarterfinals after a 2-0 win against Switzerland’s Tanja Hüberli and Nina Betschart on Thursday. Pavan and Humana-Parades have yet to drop a set in the tournament. They go head-to-head with second seeds Julia Sude and Chantal Laboureur of Germany on Friday at 7 a.m. ET.
Heather Bansley serves against Cuba’s Lidiannis Echeverria Benitez and Leila Consuelo Martinez Ortega at the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. Photo: FIVB
Joining them will be Brandie Wilkerson and Heather Bansley, who are coming off a 2-1 win over Cuba’s Lidiannis Echeverria Benitez and Leila Consuelo Martinez Ortega in the Round of 16. In a North American showdown, they will go on to face Americans Lauren Fendrick and April Ross in the quarterfinals.
The Canadian women are just three wins away from taking home a world championship medal.
Canada’s leading men will also be advancing in the tournament, making it through to the Round of 16 which is set to be played on Friday.
Chaim Schalk and Ben Saxton high-five during their match against Cuba’s Esteban Grimalt and Marco Grimalt at the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. Photo: FIVB
The first pair to advance were Rio Olympic partners Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk, who beat brothers Marco and Esteban Grimalt of Chile 2-0 on Thursday. Next up they’ll face Alison and Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil, who were the 2015 FIVB World Champions and 2016 Olympic Champions.
The Sam-squared pairing of Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter followed in their footsteps, beating reigning Olympic silver medallists Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo of Italy 2-0 to advance. They will hit the sand against Nikita Liamin and Viacheslav Krasilnikov of Russia.
