Canadian beach volleyballers Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson reach final in Doha

Canada's Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson will play in the final of the season-opening Elite16 beach volleyball tournament in Doha after a three-set semifinal win on Saturday.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson outlasted Latvia's Anastasija Samoilova and Tina Graudina in the semifinals on Saturday, taking a 21-17, 20-22, 15-12 victory.

The Toronto duo will meet Brazilians Bárbara Seixas and Carol Salgado in the final at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, a match that will be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem, and the CBC Sports app.

WATCH LIVE | World Volleyball Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 from Doha:

The Canadians advanced to the semis by beating the top-ranked Brazilian duo of Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa in straight sets (21-19, 21-19) in the quarterfinals on Friday.

WATCH | Canada vs. Brazil in the quarterfinals:

Earlier, the Canadians, beat Brazil's 14th-ranked team of Agatha Bednarczuk and Rebecca Cavalcanti (16-21, 21-17, 15-11) in the Round of 12.

In 2023, the Canadians placed at least fifth in each of their nine appearances at Beach Pro Tour tournaments  and the world championship in Mexico.

They won gold medals at the Jurmala Challenge and Montreal Elite16, and bronze at the Ostrava Elite16.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson were also Canada's flag-bearers at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, where they captured the country's first women's beach volleyball medal at the Games with a silver.