Canada Grabs First Direct Berth in Women’s Beach Volleyball for LA 2028

Summary:

• Canada’s Paris 2024 silver medallists beat Megan Kraft and Kelly Cheng 21-16, 27-25 in the NORCECA final.
• The Olympic quota belongs to Canada, with the athletes to be confirmed through the national selection process.
• Samuel Schachter and Jonathan Pickett claimed third place in the men’s tournament, while the U.S. secured the men’s berth.

The Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson duo secured Canada’s first direct berth in women’s beach volleyball for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after coming out with flying colors from the battle with the United States in the final of the NORCECA continental qualifier in Puerto Rico.

The Canadian pair, who won silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics, swept Americans Megan Kraft and Kelly Cheng 21-16, 27-25 on Sunday, November 8, at the Areia Sports Complex in Vega Baja. The victory earned Canada the only direct women’s Olympic quota place available through the tournament.

The berth belongs to Canada, and it is not automatically assigned to Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson. The athletes who will represent the country in Los Angeles will be later established using the country’s national selection process.

The final was particularly demanding in the second set, with the Canadians needing several match points before closing out the match. Wilkerson delivered a kill to put Canada ahead 26-25, before the Americans failed to return Humana-Paredes’s serve on the next point.

Humana-Paredes told Volleyball Canada,

It feels incredible to have secured something of this magnitude at this point in the season and in the Olympic qualification process.

She added that winning the tournament was already rewarding, with Olympic qualification making the result even more significant.

The Toronto-based duo did not drop a set in the knockout rounds. Earlier on Sunday, they defeated Mexico’s Susana Torres and Abril Flores 21-12, 21-18 in the semifinals. They had also beaten the U.S. Virgin Islands’ T’ara Austin and Taylor Buckner 21-11, 21-16 in the quarterfinals.

Kraft and Cheng, Undefeated Before the Final

Canada was the only team to take a set off the Americans during the tournament, winning the opening set of their pool-stage meeting on Saturday before losing the match 21-16, 15-12 in the remaining sets.

The U.S. pair reached the final after beating Puerto Rico’s Allanis Navas and Keishlyann Sanchez 21-16, 21-12. Mexico’s Torres and Flores had topped Pool A with a perfect 4-0 record.

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson made history at Paris 2024 by becoming Canada’s first Olympic beach volleyball finalists. 

They ultimately took silver after losing the gold-medal match to Brazil’s Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa. Canada’s only other Olympic medal in the sport remains the bronze won by John Child and Mark Heese at Atlanta 1996, when beach volleyball made its Olympic debut.

Canada Takes Men’s Bronze

Canada also finished on the men’s podium in Puerto Rico. Samuel Schachter and Jonathan Pickett defeated hosts William Rivera and Diego Rosich 21-9, 21-15 in the third-place match.

The Canadian team had lost its semifinal 21-19, 21-18 to Americans Trevor Crabb and Chase Budinger. 

The U.S. pair went on to defeat Mexico’s Carlos Andres Ayala and Ines Vargas Lares in a three-set final, securing a second men’s Olympic berth for the United States alongside its automatic host qualification.

Only the winners of the men’s and women’s finals received direct qualification places through the NORCECA tournament. Canada can still earn additional Olympic places through the FIVB Olympic Ranking, the 2027 FIVB World Championships and the 2028 Olympic Qualifier Series.

The Los Angeles 2028 beach volleyball tournaments will feature 24 teams in each gender.