When Candians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson announced their partnership last fall, it marked a seismic change, if not a somewhat expected one, in the beach volleyball landscape. One of the main benefits for both was as much what they were gaining on their side of the net as it was what they no longer had to deal with on the other side of it.
“Ten less things to worry about now,” Wilkerson said then.
“Are you kidding me?” Humana-Paredes said, exaggerated relief on her face.
Yes, in partnering with Wilkerson, Humana-Paredes added arguably the best blocker in the world to her half of the net. Yes, in partnering with Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson has behind her one of the smoothest and savviest defenders in the game. Equally as important, Humana-Paredes no longer has to navigate that block herself, and Wilkerson doesn’t have to discover new and inventive ways of scoring on Humana-Paredes.
That burden now lies on the rest of the world. The world has yet to figure it out.
Only one team, Kelley Kolinske and Hailey Harward, managed to claim a set off the Canadians in this weekend’s Jurmala Challenge. That came in the first set of the entire tournament. After that? The Canadians won 12 straight sets, allowing only one to come closer than four points. Switzerland’s Esmee Bobner and Zoe Verge-Depre put on a valiant effort in the finals, though even they, with all of the momentum and carefree swagger of the underdog, couldn’t sustain the absurd offensive efficiency required to consistently score on Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson, with the gold medal going to Canada, 21-17, 21-17.
“How lucky am I to play with Brandie? She was an all-star all weekend with all of the monster blocks and all of the spin serves,” Humana-Paredes said. “It’s been such a pleasure.”
For the second consecutive tournament, Wilkerson has finished No. 1 in blocks. In the Ostrava Elite16 two weeks ago, Wilkerson’s 28 blocks led the field en route to a bronze medal, their first podium as a team. In Jurmala, Latvia this week, her 23 blocks again topped the field. This time she was rewarded with gold.
“Every point we played like it’s the first point of the game until the very end,” Wilkerson said. “Our opponents are obviously extremely talented, they’re an amazing team.”
Indeed, the silver won by…
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