Wilkerson, Humana-Paredes: Canada's 'ultimate dream team' reunite for Olympic beach volleyball quest

Natural partnership. Love this pair. Ultimate dream team for Canada.

This was a sampling of the feedback on Brandie Wilkerson's Instagram account after she teamed with Melissa Humana-Paredes and beat rising American beach volleyball stars Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth in the Sept. 4 final of the AVP Pro Tour's Chicago Open.

At the time, Wilkerson's regular playing partner, Sophie Bukovec, was recovering from a sprained right hand.

A few weeks later, Wilkerson was coy about a potential future partnership on the sand with Humana-Paredes, telling CBC Sports: "She can play AVP [tourneys] and Sophie can't, so maybe people will see us play more."

Well, Canadian beach volleyball fans will see a lot more of Wilkerson and Humana-Paredes after Volleyball Canada announced Friday they will be working together in a quest for a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In August, Humana-Paredes of Toronto split from Sarah Pavan, her partner of five years with whom she won a 2019 world title and second Commonwealth Games gold medal this past summer. Pavan will now team with Bukovec, who won world silver in June with Wilkerson in their first season together.

WATCH | Pavan, Humana-Paredes eliminated at 2022 worlds:

"We are thrilled to see these top athletes, who have worked so hard at the highest level and know what it takes to reach the podium, form new teams as the world looks ahead to Paris 2024," Volleyball Canada president and CEO Mark Eckert said in a statement. "It will be very exciting to watch."

Playing with Humana-Paredes in Chicago with Bukovec in attendance, said the 30-year-old Wilkerson, "was like reuniting with a friend. We're the same age. We started our [2010-11] rookie year at York University [in Toronto] together. I've watched