NORCECA: Canada Caps Off Golden Year

A fitting end to a historic year for Canadian beach volleyball as three teams stood on the podium at the NORCECA Championships in Trinidad & Tobago this year, capping off the best-ever year for the program in style. 

Melissa Humaña-Predes, Taylor Pischke, Kristina Valjas and Jamie Broder joined by Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat on the podium  Photo: NORCECA

Jamie Broder (Victoria, BC) and Kristina Valjas (Toronto, ON) finished the 2015 seasons the way they started it: standing atop the podium with a Gold medal around their necks. They defeated Americans Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat in the final

After falling in an all-Canadian semi-final 21-14, 14-21, 15-7,  Melissa Humaña-Paredes (Toronto, ON) and Taylor Pischke (Winnipeg, MB) bounced back quickly to exact some revenge on Flores/Martinez of Cuba - the team who defeated them in the semi-finals of the Pan Am Games in Toronto earlier this summer. They hold nothing back, making quick work with a 21-15, 21-12 win. 

Sam Pedlow and Grant O'Gorman pose with Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros of Mexico and Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena of the USA.  Photo: NORCECA

One of the hottest teams in the late season, Sam Pedlow (Barrie, ON) and Grant O'Gorman (Scarborough, ON) broke through to narrowly win it all, but falling to one of the best teams in the world, Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena 18-21, 21-15, 19-17 in the finals. Not only do they take home the silver medal, but they also take home  450 points which should get them into the Main Draw to start next season. 

Add these to the nine FIVB medals won by four different Canadian teams and it start to paint the picture of how special 2015 was for Canadian beach volleyball.