Canada's wonderful journey to the beach volleyball final at the Olympic Games in Paris ended with a match that was the best ever.

The only thing missing for Brandi Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes was the win.

The duo from Toronto lost 2-1 (26-24, 12-21, 15-10) to Brazil on Friday, but they became the first two Canadian women to reach the Olympic podium in this sport.

The silver medal came after a rocky start of 1-2 in the group stage and qualifying through a lucky losing match earlier in the tournament.

Humana-Paredes said: "We showed a lot of people what is possible. We showed a lot of people what a pure heart, courage, and the intangible things in sports mean."

The gold medal match featured multiple points to close out each set, amazing rallies, and a tie-break - even a brief scuffle on the court - before Ana Patricia Ramos and Eduarda Santos (Duda) of Lisbon secured their first Olympic title.

Despite the loss, the Canadians were overjoyed after their historic run at the Eiffel Tower Stadium. The only other Canadian medal was the men's bronze in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Wilkerson said: "I'm so happy to make history for Canada in beach volleyball. This is something that makes me hold my head high."

Canada led 8-2 while the top-ranked Brazilians appeared shaky. Ramos reduced the deficit to 5-13 at 8-13 thanks to her block against Canada.

Each team got set points, but Brazil managed to take advantage of the fourth opportunity.

In the second set, Humana-Paredes made an error and then followed it up with a decisive convert to give Canada a 11-10 lead at the technical timeout.

Canada continued to pressure thanks to strong defensive efforts and effective play at the net. Humana-Paredes scored the winning point 18-11 to send Canada to a tie-break.

Brazil responded early in the deciding set and went ahead 12-7 in the first set to 15 points. But tensions rose when Wilkerson spotted her family in the stands and was "cheering for them" after scoring a point.

Ramos took exception, and the four players started mocking each other across the net. The referee intervened amid the scuffle to prevent things from escalating.

Wilkerson said: "I thought I was cheering her on, but I was looking past her," describing it as a misunderstanding that was cleared up after the match.

The arena’s DJ joined in the fun by playing John Lennon's "Imagine" over the speakers. The players smiled in the end, and the crowd, which had sold out, welcomed them.

Wilkerson, who received a yellow card, said: "They played the song, and it was so funny. I think it was just a moment for everyone to catch their breath and reset things. I think this worked in our favor."

Canada managed to reduce the gap but Brazil ultimately dominated and secured the win on the second championship point.

Ramos's hit deflected off Wilkerson's hand, and hundreds of Brazilian fans celebrated. This was Brazil's first gold medal since the Atlanta Games.

Wilkerson said: "We are fighting for the same thing. There is only one gold medal, and there are two teams competing for it."

The seventh-seeded Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson reached the final after beating Tanya Huberli and Nina Brunner of Switzerland the day before. They saved a match point in the win during the semifinal match that went to three sets.

The top-seeded pair also defeated the Canadians in the final of the Pan American Games last year in Santiago, Chile.

Earlier on Friday, Huberli and Brunner defeated Australians Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar 21-17 and 21-15 for the bronze medal.

The men's medal matches were scheduled for Saturday, with Sweden set to play Germany for the gold medal, while Norway faced Qatar for the bronze medal.