Canada's Pavan, Humana-Paredes open Latvia Elite 16 with victory

One week after their early elimination, Canadian beach volleyball duo Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes took a strong first step toward making sure it doesn't happen again.

Pavan and Humana-Paredes failed to make the knockout stage at last week's Elite 16 tournament in Ostrava after finishing group play with one win and two losses.

The Canadians placed fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, but have enjoyed a successful partnership since joining forces after the 2016 Rio Games.

That success was on full display in Latvia, where Pavan, of Kitchener, Ont., and Toronto's Humana-Paredes outscored their Brazilian opponents in attacks, blocks and serves.

They return to the beach on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET to take on the top-ranked Dutch duo of Raisa Schoon and Katja Stam, who also won their opening match.

The FIVB Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 event in Latvia runs through Sunday with the quarter-finals, semifinals and medal matches taking place over the weekend. You can stream the event on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.

WATCH LIVE | Coverage of Latvia Elite 16:

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