Brandie Wilkerson

Canadian beach volleyball player
1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)[2]College / UniversityYork University[3]Beach volleyball informationCurrent teammate
Years Teammate
2022–present[2] Melissa Humana-Paredes
Previous teammates
Years Teammate
  • 2013–14
  • 2015–16
  • 2016–21
  • 2022
  • Claudia Séguin
  • Julie Gordon
  • Heather Bansley
  • Sophie Bukovec
Indoor volleyball informationPositionRight side/blockerNational team
 Canada
International medals[2]
Women's beach volleyball
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris Beach
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Rome Beach
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2023 Santiago Beach
World Tour
Gold medal – first place 2018 Warsaw 4-star
Gold medal – first place 2018 Las Vegas 4-star
Gold medal – first place 2018 Chetumal 3-star
Silver medal – second place 2018 Ostrava 4-star
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Itapema 4-star
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gstaad 5-star
Last updated: January 14, 2019

Brandie Wilkerson (born July 1, 1992) is a Canadian[2] beach volleyball player who plays as a right-side blocker.[1] She currently competes with partner Melissa Humaña-Paredes, with whom she won a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[4]

With former partner Heather Bansley, she achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 1 in November 2018,[5] and was recognized as the 2018 FIVB Best Blocker for that season.[6] Bansley/Wilkerson represented Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She then competed for one season with Sophie Bukovec, and the pair won silver at the 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championships.

Early life

Wilkerson was born in Switzerland and moved to Canada when she was seven.[7] Her father, Herb Johnson, né Wilkerson, is a former basketball player who was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association.[3][8] He played professionally in France, Spain, Japan, Turkey, and Switzerland. Her mother, Stephanie, was a Swiss national runner and a two-time Ironman finalist.[3]

University career

Wilkerson played CIS volleyball for the York Lions from 2010 to 2014.[3] For the 2010–11 season, she was named York's female rookie of the year and was the OUA rookie of the year in women's volleyball. In 2011–12, Wilkerson was named an OUA first-team all-star and was a CIS second-team All-Canadian as she led the OUA with 4.29 points scored per set. She repeated the OUA and CIS awards won in the 2012–13 season and finished with 4.21 points per set and 3.36 kills per set.[3] In her senior year in 2013–14, she was limited to 11 matches due to an injury, but was still named an OUA East second-team all-star while ranking fourth in the OUA with 3.91 points per set.[3]

International career

Wilkerson and Bansley first competed together at the Swatch World Tour finals in Toronto (September 13–18, 2016), where they finished 9th.[9] In 2018, they had a break-out year and closed the season ranked No. 1 on the FIVB world tour.[10]

Wilkerson and Bansley were named as part of the Canadian Olympic team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, one of the nation's two entries in the women's tournament along with the team of Bansley's former partner Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes. Bansley and Wilkerson struggled during pool play, recording two losses and one win, but advanced into the knockout stages due to being one of the top two "Lucky Loser" teams. In the Round of 16 they were the sixteenth seed, but unexpectedly upset the third-seeded American team of Claes/Sponcil by winning two sets to one.[11] In the quarter-final they faced the Latvian team Kravčenoka/Graudiņa, and were eliminated after losing two sets to one.[12]

Following the 2021 season, Wilkerson and Bansley's partnership came to an end, and Wilkerson announced a new partnership with Sophie Bukovec.[13] With limited preseason time, they debuted on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour at the Tlaxcala Challenge in March, but did not make it out of qualifying. They would continue to work on "grinding it out" in the following months.[14] Entering the 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Rome as the twentieth seed, Bukovec/Wilkerson went on a run to the women's tournament final, where they took the silver medal after being defeated by Brazil's Lisboa/Ramos. Wilkerson acknowledged after that "of course wanted to walk away with the gold, but again, we're doing the right things and are looking forward to continuing our journey as a team."[15] The two opted to end their season after the Paris Elite16 tournament in late September,[14] from which they were eventually eliminated prior to the quarter-final stage.[16]

On November 1, 2022, Wilkerson announced that she was no longer competing with Bukovec, and had formed a new partnership with Melissa Humana-Paredes, a former teammate during her time playing volleyball at York University.[17] The new team enjoyed success, appearing in ten tournaments in 2023 with no placement lower than fifth.[18] At the 2023 Beach Volleyball World Championships in early October, the duo won five consecutive matches without conceding a set, but were eliminated in the quarter-final by Australians Clancy/Artacho del Solar.[19] They then joined Canada's Pan American Games delegation for the 2023 edition in Santiago. They served as Canada's co-flagbearers in the opening ceremony, and reached the tournament final, losing to Brazil's Lisboa/Ramos.[20]

In June of 2024, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson were officially named to the Canadian team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[21] The Olympic tournament began poorly for the team, who lost their first two games in pool play, and reached the knockout stage only via winning a lucky loser playoff against Czechs Hermannová/Štochlová.[22] Humana-Paredes/Wilkerson then managed an upset victory over Nuss/Kloth of the United States in the round of 16, winning two sets to zero,[23][24] before managing the same against Spaniards Álvarez Mendoza/Moreno in the quarter-final. They became the first Canadian team to reach the semi-finals of an Olympic women's volleyball tournament.[25] Facing the Swiss team Hüberli/Betschart, who had to that point not lost a single set in the tournament, Humana-Paredes/Wilkerson were on the verge of elimination at the end of the second set, but successfully forced a tiebreaker round and won, qualifying for the championship match against Lisboa/Ramos.[26] The championship match went to three sets, a first in Olympic women's beach volleyball, before the Brazilians prevailed. Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson took the silver medal.[27] Humana-Parades' father Hernán said that he felt their victory would have an "even bigger" impact on the sport in Canada than the bronze medal team he had coached in 1996.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Details of Brandie Wilkerson". Beach Volleyball Major Series. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Athlete's biography". Fédération Internationale de Volleyball. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "2013-14 Women's Volleyball Roster". York Lions. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  4. ^ Dichter, Myles (August 11, 2024). "How a game of musical chairs led Canada's Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson to the Olympic podium". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  5. ^ Strong, Gregory (November 7, 2018). "Hitting their stride: Canada's Bansley, Wilkerson on top of beach volleyball world". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  6. ^ "Brandie and Heather looking for more in 2019". Beach Volleyball Major Series. November 12, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  7. ^ "Brandie's at home in Gstaad". Beach Volleyball Major Series. July 12, 2018. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019.
  8. ^ Vintila, Annelise (February 2, 2012). "Excalibur Interview : Brandie Wilkerson". Excalibur. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019.
  9. ^ Canada's Bansley, Wilkerson 2-0 as beach v-ball partners at World Tour event
  10. ^ "Wilkerson and Bansley Top Women's Beach Volleyball Rankins". Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  11. ^ "Canadian beach volleyball duo Bansley, Wilkerson advance to quarter-finals at Tokyo Olympics". CBC Sports. July 31, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "Canada's Pavan, Humana-Paredes eliminated in Olympic beach volleyball quarter-finals". CBC Sports. August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Canada's Wilkerson announces apparent split from beach volleyball partner Bansley". CBC Sports. February 14, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Harrison, Doug (September 28, 2022). "Emerging Canadian beach volleyball duo Wilkerson, Bukovec continue to grow, build trust". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  15. ^ "Canada's Wilkerson, Bukovec earn women's world beach volleyball silver". Sportsnet. June 19, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  16. ^ "Canada's Wilkerson, Bukovec eliminated at Paris Elite16 beach volleyball tournament". CBC Sports. September 30, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  17. ^ "New teams ensure Canada remain a force on the sand". Volleyball World. November 1, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  18. ^ Koreen, Mike (July 17, 2024). "Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson reunite for shot at Olympic beach volleyball glory". Sportsnet. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  19. ^ "Canadian beach volleyball duo Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson ousted in quarterfinals at worlds". CBC Sports. October 13, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  20. ^ Spencer, Donna (October 27, 2023). "Beach volleyball duo, flag-bearers Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson earn Pan Am Games silver". The Globe & Mail. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  21. ^ "Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson officially named to Canada's Olympic beach volleyball team". CBC Sports. June 28, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  22. ^ "Canada's Wilkerson, Humana-Paredes clinch knockout round spot with lucky loser win". CBC Sports. August 3, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  23. ^ "Canada's Wilkerson, Humana-Paredes upset U.S. to reach Olympic beach volleyball quarterfinals". CBC Sports. August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  24. ^ Edeh, Rosey (August 5, 2022). "Huge upset win sends Humana-Paredes & Wilkerson to beach volleyball quarterfinals". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  25. ^ Robertson, Grant (August 7, 2024). "Paris Olympics: Canada's Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson top Spain in women's beach volleyball quarter-final". The Globe & Mail. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  26. ^ Strong, Gregory (August 8, 2024). "Canada's Wilkerson, Humana-Paredes rally to win spot in Olympic beach volleyball final". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  27. ^ "Canada's Wilkerson, Humana-Paredes earn silver after falling in women's beach volleyball title game". CBC Sports. August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  28. ^ Robertson, Grant (August 9, 2024). "Canadian duo bested by Brazil in gold-medal match for women's beach volleyball". The Globe & Mail. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
Awards
Preceded by
 Sarah Pavan (CAN)
 Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Blocker"
2018 		Succeeded by
 Sarah Pavan (CAN)