Canada's Pavan, Humana-Paredes cruise into semis at beach volleyball Tour finals

Canadian duo Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes are into the semifinals at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals after an undefeated streak in the preliminary round. 

Pavan, of Kitchener, Ont., and Humana-Paredes, of Toronto, beat their American opponents Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil 2-1 on Friday, securing their fourth win in Sardinia, Italy. 

Though the Canadians entered without having dropped a set at the tournament, the duo started their run against the United States with a 21-13 loss. But they rallied to take the other two sets (21-14, 15-11) and become the second women's team to bypass the quarter-finals. 

Pavan and Humana-Parades will have to defeat an American squad to get the chance to play for gold. Claes and Sponcil will play teammates April Ross and Alexandra Klineman, with the winner advancing to the semifinal match against Canada.

WATCH | Canada defeats American duo Claes and Sponcil:

FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals: Canada vs. USA

3 years ago

Duration 56:09

Watch Canada's Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes take on Americans Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil in the main draw of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals from Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, Italy.

The Canadians are scheduled to play in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. 

Russia's Nadezda Makroguzova and Svetlana Kholomina are the other pair that have booked their ticket. They'll face either Julia Sude and Karla Borger of Germany or Brazil's Agatha and Duda.

The Canadians started their day by continuing their hot start with a third straight-sets victory on Friday.

Pavan and Humana-Paredes ran their record to a perfect 3-0 by scoring a 21-15, 21-11 win against Switzerland's Anouk Verge-Depre and Joanna Heidrich.

WATCH | Canada's victory over Switzerland:

FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals: Canada vs. Switzerland

3 years ago

Duration 35:39

Watch Canada's Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes play Switzerland's Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Joana Heidrich in the main draw of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals from Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, Italy.

On Wednesday, Pavan and Humana-Paredes beat the top-ranked Brazilian duo of Agatha and Duda, after opening their tourney with a victory over the Netherlands' Madelein Meppelink and Sanne Keizer. 

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals runs through Sunday, with the quarter-finals, semifinals and medal matches taking place over the weekend. You can stream the event on CBCSports.ca, as well as catch coverage on Road to the Olympic Games on CBC TV and CBC Gem.