The “new” partnership, which qualified for the 2017 FIVB World Championships via their international ranking, started with last September in the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals in Toronto as Bansley and Wilkerson defeated Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan in a Canadian playoff.  Since then, Bansley and Wilkerson have posted three ninths and a fifth in their first four FIVB World Tour starts.  While Wilkerson will be playing in her first world championships, Bansley has posted two 17ths and a fifth in her three previous appearances, including the last two with Pavan.  A fifth-place finisher at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with Pavan, Bansley started participating in FIVB-sanctioned events in 2007 and became a regular on the FIVB World Tour in 2011.  Wilkerson first appeared in international competition in 2013 on the NORCECA tour and played in her first FIVB World Tour event in 2014.  With her best FIVB finishing being a fifth at June’s stop in The Hague with Bansley, Wilkerson’s NORCECA career was highlighted by a 2016 gold medal with Julie Gordon in Mexico.