The Canadian team of Heather Bansley and Elizabeth Maloney split two games on Wednesday to open a stop on the FIVB World Tour beach volleyball circuit .The pair from Toronto upset the ninth seeds from Finland, Emilia and Erika Nystrom, 21-15, 21-17 to open the day. It was a big victory for the 24th-seeded Canadians who are coming off top-10 finishes in their last two events.
Bansley and Maloney couldn’t repeat the upset later in the day when they fell 22-20, 21-19 to eighth-seeded Maria Clara Salgado Rufino and Carolina Soldberg Salgado of Brazil. The loss puts the Canadians on the brink of elimination. They face seventh-seeded Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Elsa Baquerizo Macmillan of Spain in a must-win game on Thursday.