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
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] With teammate Heather Bansley, she achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 1 in November 2018.[4] She is the 2018 FIVB Best Blocker.[5] She has also competed on the AVP.

Early life

Wilkerson was born in Switzerland and moved to Canada when she was seven.[6] Her father Herb Johnson, né Wilkerson, is a former basketball player who was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association.[3][7] 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.[8] In 2018, they had a break-out year and closed the season ranked No. 1 on the FIVB world tour.[9]

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.[10] In the quarter-final they faced the Latvian team Kravčenoka/Graudiņa, and were eliminated after losing two sets to one.[11]

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. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Brandie and Heather looking for more in 2019". Beach Volleyball Major Series. November 12, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  6. ^ "Brandie's at home in Gstaad". Beach Volleyball Major Series. July 12, 2018. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019.
  7. ^ Vintila, Annelise (February 2, 2012). "Excalibur Interview : Brandie Wilkerson". Excalibur. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019.
  8. ^ Canada's Bansley, Wilkerson 2-0 as beach v-ball partners at World Tour event
  9. ^ "Wilkerson and Bansley Top Women's Beach Volleyball Rankins". Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  10. ^ "Canadian beach volleyball duo Bansley, Wilkerson advance to quarter-finals at Tokyo Olympics". CBC Sports. CBC. July 31, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "Canada's Pavan, Humana-Paredes eliminated in Olympic beach volleyball quarter-finals". CBC Sports. CBC. August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.

External links

Awards
Preceded by
 Sarah Pavan (CAN)
 Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Blocker"
2018 		Succeeded by
 Sarah Pavan (CAN)