Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes, left, and Brandie Wilkerson, right, react after winning the women’s beach volleyball semi-final match at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Aug. 8.Siegfried Modola/The Globe and Mail
As reality set in that they would be playing for a gold medal in Paris, Canadian beach volleyball duo Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson had three words to sum up their approach to these Olympics.
“Why stop now?” Humana-Paredes said.
All tournament, the two players have been dodging elimination, engineering improbable comebacks and staring down tense situations. Thursday’s semi-final matchup against Switzerland was ripped from that same script.
Facing a tough-serving Swiss side, the Canadians came within a single point of having their gold-medal dreams dashed.
The Swiss won the first game handily by a score of 21-14 and looked in control as they took a 20-19 lead in the second frame. Up against match point, Canada appeared destined for the bronze-medal game.
But Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson rallied after a series of decisive blocks from Wilkerson, whose strength is playing the net.
“Front the net,” Humana-Paredes implored her during a pivotal break in play, using three other words that proved crucial to their win.
In volleyball terms, she wanted Wilkerson, a top blocker in the sport, to get more aggressive. And when the Swiss tried to put the game away, they couldn’t find a solution.
“I think Brandie and Melissa are a really strong team in block defence,” Switzerland’s Nina Brunner said after the match. “It’s always like this against them.”
The pep talk helped Canada flip the momentum and climb back to win the second game 22-20. Having dodged match point, Humana-Paredes said they were confident they wouldn’t lose the third game. Canada went on to win 15-12.
Canada will meet the top-ranked Brazilian duo of Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa in Friday’s gold-medal match at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
The Swiss were at a loss to explain how their lead unravelled.
“I think we were the better team until the end of the second set,” Swiss player Tanja Hueberli said. “The Canadians, they played it really well. I think also they realized that when they won the second set that they had a chance to win.”
The close-call victory represents more history being made by the duo. After becoming the first Canadian women’s volleyball squad to make the Olympic semi-finals, they are now the first to play for gold.
Both women said they are unwilling to accept anything less.
“We can stand with our heads proud that we have that opportunity for a medal, but we won’t lose sight – it’s gold for us,” Wilkerson said.
“I agree,” Humana-Paredes said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best volleyball yet, I think that’s still somewhere inside,” she said.
The gold-medal match “is the day to bring it out,” she added.
Thursday’s win caps a wild run at these Olympics where the pair has been forced to fight back several times from deficits or losses, just to survive.
“It’s not the first time we’ve faced adversity,” Wilkerson said.
“So when adversity showed up again, I mean, it was a familiar face.”
Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes arrived in Paris with the podium as their goal. Both were beaten in the round of eight three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics with different partners, and teamed up with the hopes of advancing.
Humana-Paredes, 32, made it to the quarter-finals with then-partner Sarah Pavan, but were defeated by Australia. Wilkerson, 28, also made it to the quarter-finals with Heather Bansley, but lost to Latvia.
“When we got together, we set our expectations high and we instilled that belief in each other because we knew that we have what it takes,” Humana-Paredes said.
Follow the latest news and highlights from the Paris Olympic Games.