PHUKET, Thailand – Former Varsity Blues women’s volleyball player Heather Bansley and partner Elizabeth Maloney completed a strong run at the Phuket Thailand Open on the FIVB beach volleyball World Tour, including upsetting the former world champions, and finished a season-high ninth on the circuit.

Bansley and Maloney, seeded 26th after advancing from Wednesday's qualification tournament, started Thursday with a three-set win over seventh-seeded and former world champions Jen Kessy and April Ross, 21-17, 15-21, 15-11.

"It's pretty surreal to beat them; I'm speechless," Bansley said of the match against the USA. "We took ourselves by surprise but when we were playing we felt like we were right there with them. It was really windy this morning and we got a couple of lucky breaks."

The Canadians then followed that match with a win against the 10th-seeded team from the host country, on an outer court with four television cameras rolling and a street lined with Thai fans.

In Friday’s quarterfinal the Canadians lost to second seeds Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig of Germany 21-12, 21-14 and in the repechage were beaten by fourth seeds Kerri Walsh and Nicole Branagh of the U.S., 21-16, 21-18.

Friday’s result caps a promising season for Bansley and Maloney which also included the Canadian title and a gold medal on the North and Central American (NORCECA) circuit.

One of the top volleyball talents in Canada, Bansley led the Varsity Blues to an OUA gold medal and a sixth-place finish at the 2010 CIS women’s volleyball championship in her final year of intercollegiate competition in 2009-10. She led the country in almost every statistical category, including points, kills and serving aces per game and was selected as the OUA’s most valuable player.