National volleyball season for 2022 is coming to a quick close. The Commonwealth Games are done, the Men’s World Championship Finals are on tonight, and on the fall of October 15, the Women’s World Championship will also finish. But there’s still so much volleyball content for any fan to look forward to! The Beach Volleyball Pro Tour is coming up, and so are the club leagues. As for any diehard anime fans—there’s also the countdown for Haikyuu!! Season 5. So, it might be the end of the national runs for indoor volleyball. But the world of the sport will continue to spin on. And there’s one person continuously pulling the worlds of indoor, beach and even anime volleyball together—Sarah Pavan!
Sarah Pavan is an Olympian, a long-time professional indoor-turned-beach volleyball player. She has accomplished many accolades in her career, including back-to-back gold at the Commonwealth Games in beach volleyball. For context, beach volleyball was first introduced into the sporting event in 2018. She and her partner Melissa Humana-Paredes won gold for Canada at the Gold Coast, and then again most recently in Birmingham. They’re the inaugural Commonwealth Games Beach Volleyball gold medalists. This makes her one of the only two people to ever hold gold for beach volleyball at the Commonwealth Games. Sarah Pavan in her spare time also has a YouTube channel in which she shares volleyball tips and reacts to Haikyuu!!
To prepare for the Men’s Volleyball World Championship Finals, in which Italy faces Poland for gold and Brazil faces Slovenia for Bronze, we interview Sarah Pavan hot off her win from the Commonwealth Games. We talk Birmingham and her transition from indoor to beach volleyball.
Let’s just start with the Commonwealth Games – you guys just won gold there for beach volleyball. How was that?
I mean, I love the Commonwealth Games! This is only the second time that beach volleyball was in them but I have absolutely loved every experience I’ve had at the games. I think they’re so inclusive and we get to see different teams that we don’t regularly see. Then obviously, Australia’s always a powerhouse in beach volleyball so getting to compete against them is awesome. But yeah, winning back-to-back gold was unreal.
Do you think that’s the first step forward into Paris 2024?
I see them as very different just because we don’t see many of these teams at the Olympics. I really separate them and I consider the Commonwealth as its own standalone thing. But you know, for example in Tokyo, we did lose to Australia in the quarter-finals. To be able to meet them again in another big games experience and to come out on top that time was really special.
What do you think was the difference maker this time in your face-off against Australia?
It’s interesting. I think my coach mentioned something to me after the game back in England. He said, “It looked like you just played, whereas in the Olympics, it was like you wanted it so badly. I think just the fact that you were able to play and just experience the game as it happened instead of focusing on the outcome was the difference”. I had never really thought about it that way before but maybe there’s some air to that.
What did you think of UK as hosts for the Commonwealth Games this year? How do you think they tackled the beach volleyball side of things?
Well, it was actually my first time ever in the UK. Yeah, shocking! I’ve travelled all over the place but I have never been to the UK before. I loved it – I thought it was amazing! Didn’t have any expectations going in as to what Birmingham would be like. Nor of what the people would be like. But it was unreal! I loved the city, all the volunteers; everyone in the community was so nice, helpful and friendly. Even though volleyball isn’t a huge part of UK culture, our venue was almost sold out every single day, and every single match! The environment that they created there in the arena – and like the dancers, the announcers and everything. It was just a really special place that people wanted to be in. I think they did an incredible job.
Moving onto indoor and beach volleyball, why did you leave indoor for beach?
To be honest, beach volleyball was never on my radar ever. I was an indoor player, I had a great career playing professionally overseas and on our national team. Things were great. But my biggest goal in my sport was to go to the Olympics. Indoor volleyball in Canada for women is not particularly strong, and the team had not—has not still—qualified for the Olympics since ‘96. I guess I was thinking about that. We had failed to qualify for London 2012, and I was getting a little bit older. I was like okay, if I want the Olympics dream to come true, I need to find a different path here. [So] let’s try beach volleyball instead. That’s how I got started.
What was the transition like for you? Was it hard to assimilate into beach volleyball from playing indoors, or was it easy?
It was terrible. It was very challenging because naïve me was like, “oh, volleyball – it’s the same as indoor, only on the sand”. It’s not the same—not even close. I cried a lot because I was so bad like, the skills indoor did not translate. It was awful! There were so many times that I wanted to walk away, that I felt that I was ruining my indoor career – because I was playing indoor at the time too. But my husband told me to stick with it. He’d said that I would regret it if I didn’t give the Olympics a full push. I stayed with it and the rest is history, I guess.
There’s a stigma with age that as you grow older, it gets harder to play indoor volleyball. Especially trying to make those high jumps you used to do before. Do you think that’s the same with beach volleyball as well?
I would probably say that the lifespan of your career is definitely longer on the beach. I think the fact that the sand is a little squishier than the indoor courts is like better on your joints. So like, your knees, your ankles, things like that. As you age, it is more forgiving. I’ll also say it’s not as powerful a sport as indoor. Your body isn’t necessarily being put through the same stress. I would say the stress is more cardiovascular than anything. Because you’re just two people running around in sand. But it’s definitely a better sport for people aging, like me.
Personally though, do you prefer beach or indoor volleyball?
Oh, that is such a hard question! I love both for very different reasons. I’ll probably have to say though that I will always be an indoor player at heart. I love the big team, I love the power of indoor, I love the speed of indoor – I think it’s so much more difficult to score and be successful offensively. But then for beach, it’s like a chess game. You have to be so mentally strong because there are no subs. You also have to know how to do every single skill well. It is very much like moving pieces on a chessboard, and I like the mental challenge of that.
Was it emotionally hard for you to leave indoor volleyball?
Yes. I played both for—I want to say—six years. I’d go on the world tour for beach then go overseas for my indoor contract, and then I’d just keep doing that. But when I finally decided to walk away from indoor, it was very sad. Because it was a part of my life for so long. I can honestly say that I still miss it—to this day—I really do.
That’s a wrap on this Sarah Pavan interview. Tonight will also wrap-up the Men’s Volleyball World Championship. Sarah Pavan’s timing cannot be more perfect—she just put up her reaction to the last episode of Haikyuu!! Season 2 on her YouTube channel. An end to the Men’s 2022 national competitions for volleyball, an end to an era for the anime and her channel as well. Who do you think will win the championship? Which teams were you rooting for? Have you seen Sarah Pavan’s reactions of Haikyuu!! before? Freak out over the championships with us on our Instagram or Twitter! Also read our previous article, Holden Caulfield Chasing Jane Gallagher.
