Pavan and Bansley take silver at beach volleyball major
Canadian duo still confident ahead of Olympics
Canada's Sarah Pavan and Heather Bansley took silver for the second year in a row at the Porec Major.
Pavan, of Kitchener, Ont., and Bansley, from Waterdown, Ont., fell in straight sets to Germany's Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude in the championship match on Saturday. The German duo won 21-19, 21-18.
Despite settling for second, the Olympic-bound Canadian pairing feel confident where their game is at with the Rio Games approaching.
"Our search for gold goes on. We move on to Gstaad [Switzerland] where we won bronze last year, so we head there going for a gold because it would be a great way to head into the Olympics," said Pavan.
On the men's side, Canada's Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk reached the semifinals with victories over Mexico and the United States on Saturday. They will play Austria on Sunday.
"These tournaments leading into Rio are crucial for refining our team systems and building confidence," said Canada's beach coach Steve Anderson. "Every win gets Canada closer to having successful performances at the Games."
Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas finished ninth and Melissa Humana-Paredes and Taylor Pischke finished 17th on the women's side.
Canada currently has three teams qualified for the Olympic Games in Rio — Pavan/Bansley, Broder/Valjas and Saxton/Schalk — with a potential of a fourth from a last-chance qualifier for the men.