PARIS – Just like a handful of sand, the Olympic gold medal slipped through Canada’s grasp.

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson settled for silver after a wild championship match that ended in a 2-1 defeat (26-24, 12-21, 15-10) to the Brazilian duo of Ana Patricia and Duda Friday in the women’s beach volleyball final at Eiffel Tower Stadium.

The Canadian team couldn’t build on the momentum of a second-set blowout win in the tie-breaker. They also fumbled away a massive 8-2 lead in the first set, where they also squandered two set points.