The set streak is over, but Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes are semifinal-bound at the Ostrava Elite16 beach volleyball tournament in the Czech Republic.
After a narrow 21-19 decision over Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss of the United States to open their Saturday quarterfinal, the Toronto tandem committed eight errors in set two compared to zero by their opponent en route to a 21-13 loss, their first in Ostrava.
However, Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes regrouped and pulled out a 15-12 win in the deciding set and will face another American duo, Terese Cannon and Sarah Sponcil, in the semifinals on Sunday at 3 a.m. ET.
Cannon and Sponcil didn’t lose a set in their first four matches in Ostrava before Brazil’s Eduarda (Duda) Lisboa and Ana Patricia Ramos swept them 2-0 on Friday.
In Sunday’s other semifinal, Duda and Ana Patricia meet Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli of Switzerland at 4 a.m. ET.
Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes held leads of 7-3 and 11-7 in the third set of Saturday’s 52-minute contest, but Kloth and Nuss fought back to draw even.
The Canadians went up 13-11 after Kloth touched the net on her follow through but she redeemed herself scoring off a block.
But Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes collected the next two points, with a Kloth hit directed out of bounds following strong net play by Wilkerson.
The Canadians prevailed on the attack, racking up 38 points to 33 by Kloth and Nuss, who dominated at the net with seven blocks while Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes managed one, courtesy the former in the first set.
Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes secured a quarterfinal berth as top seed in their group at 3-0 after topping Agatha Bednarczuk and Rebecca Cavalcanti Barbosa Silva of Brazil 21-19, 21-16.
WATCH | Canadians blank Brazil to finish group play:
Watch Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson face Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk and Rebecca Cavalcantiati at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 from Ostrava, Czech Republic.
The Canadians, playing their third tournament since joining forces full-time in October, also blanked Switzerland’s Nina Brunner and Tanja Huberli and the Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova and Marie-Sara Stochlova.
The third-place contest will be held Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET while the final is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
Live coverage of the entire tournament is available on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
WATCH | Full match coverage: Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes vs. Kloth/Nuss:
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Watch Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson face Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth of the United States in the quarterfinals at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 from Ostrava, Czech Republic.
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