Bansley, Pavan take bronze at beach volleyball tournament

Canadian beach volleyballers Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan captured the bronze medal at the Moscow Grand Slam with a win Sunday afternoon over Juliana Felisberta and Taiana Lima of Brazil.

The fifth-seeded Canadian duo took only 38 minutes to capture the victory over the sixth-seeded Brazilian team, posting a 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) bronze medal match win in 38 minutes, their fifth FIVB World Tour podium placement in 33 international starts.

Last year, the Canadian team had its lowest finish of the World Tour season —  a 25th at the 2015 Moscow Grand Slam. 

"This was a good weekend for us," said Bansley of Waterdown, Ont., "especially after what we did here last year, along with finishing ninth last week at the open event in the United States [Cincinnati]. To win a bronze medal after what we have been through since the Rio event, it really helps our confidence."
 
Bansley and Pavan placed fifth in the Rio Grand Slam in mid-March on Copacabana — the location of the 2016 Rio Games — but they were forced to forfeit their quarter-final match to a Polish team as Pavan injured her toe when colliding with Bansley.
 
"Cincinnati was disappointing," said Pavan, who is one of the most-decorated indoor collegiate players when she competed at the University of Nebraska. "To come back this week and win six of seven matches is a big plus for our team, especially with our Olympic preparation."
 
Bansley and Pavan are the third-ranked team on the Rio 2016 provisional Olympic list, excluding Brazilians, with 6,030 points for their best 12 finishes on the FIVB World Tour since the start of the qualifying process for the Rio quadrennial to be played August 6-18.
 
In other Canadian results in Moscow, Jamie Broder (Victoria) and Kristina Valjas (Toronto) were 17th. In the men's event, Cincinnati Open silver medallists Josh Binstock and Sam Schachter (both of Richmond Hill, Ont.) were 17th, and Chaim Schalk (Red Deer, Alta.) and Ben Saxton (Calgary) finished ninth overall.