Melissa Humana-Paredes is gritting up

Melissa Humana-Paredes is gritting up

The lead was gone, momentum completely flipped, and Melissa Humana-Paredes was, in her own words, crapping her pants.

That’s what she said to her partner after their 14-10 lead in the third set of the World Championship semifinals had disappeared. Nobody wants to be in that situation. Nobody asks to miss on four match points of the game’s biggest stage. And yet it was perhaps the most critical moment of the partnership for the team that would finish the 2019 season ranked No. 1 in the world.

“Fourteen-fourteen was a really pivotal moment for Sarah and I because they had gotten three straight aces,” Humana-Paredes said on SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “They weren’t even rallies. She had gotten an ace down the sideline, ace down the seam, it was ‘Wow.’ There was no time to think about anything, but she was able to see where I was mentally and she was able to relate to me and say ‘I’m a little nervous too. This is not ideal.’ Vulnerability is a beautiful thing and is such a necessary thing in beach volleyball. We’re out there and our weaknesses are exposed. There’s no one else to come in for you. You gotta figure it out, just you and your partner, so in that moment, when you express that vulnerability to your partner, and she shows up for you, she’s like ‘You know what, me too, but you got this.’

“She turned to me and she said ‘They’re going to serve you. You’re going to pass it, I’m going to set you, and you’re going to side out, because that’s what you can do.’ I was like ‘Wow, she’s really confident in you. Step up to the plate Mel.’ That was a turning point for us to grit up.”

Humana-Paredes and Pavan would go on to win that semifinal over Switzerland’s Nina Betschart and Tanja Huberli, 19-17 in the third set, which would precede a 23-21, 23-21 epic of a final victory over April Ross and Alix Klineman.

It became a theme for the season for the Canadians: When things were tight, when they were down, they just found a way to win. They “gritted up,” and in doing so, they only, oh, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, became the first Canadian team to hold a World Champion title, cemented themselves on the Manhattan Beach Pier. They win gold on the road again in Vienna and at home in Edmonton. They finished their season fittingly: On a high, with a first in Hawai’i.

All because, Humana-Paredes said, they found the ability to “grit up.”

“Heading into World Champs, we weren’t feeling our best,” Humana-Paredes said. “We were coming off a couple rough finishes in Warsaw and Ostrava and we weren’t playing super clean ball. Even in the World Champs, even in pool play, they were gnarly, gritty games. We easily could have lost them. Even some games in our playoffs, we easily could have lost them, but we really, really were working hard, and were gritty and were resilient. I think that’s what the 2019 season was: full on grit and heart. It was like that for every tournament. Nothing came easy, and we just worked for it. We’re going into this season with that same mentality.”

They’ll need it, too. This year, like no other, Humana-Paredes and Pavan will be the team everyone is looking to knock down. They’ve had the metaphorical target on their back before, following the brilliant 2017 season that finished with them ranked second in the world.

“We were still in that period while having these new standards and expectations that everyone else was also having of us and to be honest I don’t think we handled it very well,” Humana-Paredes said of the 2018 season. “It was a bit of a roller coaster. We did win some tournaments. We won the Commonwealth Games, we won Gstaad, we won China, but we also had a couple uncharacteristic finishes. We had a couple seventeenths, and it was a huge roller coaster. We sat down at the end of the year and looked at what we accomplished and it was a lot better than it felt. We felt like we dropped the ball but when we looked back at our results we weren’t far from the goals we had set for ourselves. When you’re in it, you can be so hard on yourself and you don’t recognize what you’re accomplishing along the way. When you reflect back on the season, maybe we were too hard on ourselves, because look at what we did. So we took that mindset into this last season in 2019 which was probably our best season.”

It may, in fact, be the most accomplished single season in Canadian beach history. In four months, Humana-Paredes and Pavan will have the opportunity to continue authoring history for the Canadian federation. They know the impact winning an Olympic medal would have on the Canadian beach community. They’ve seen it before, after World Champs, when dozens of girls reached out to let them know that they were the reason they were picking up beach.

“We saw how it affected Canada and how they really took notice, and beach volleyball started to grow,” Humana-Paredes said. “We saw how it affected the growing generation in Canada for beach volleyball, which is ultimately what we want to do. We want to inspire the next generation, and the amount of messages we got from parents and kids saying ‘I want to start playing beach volleyball because of this’ who had never been in the sport and now want to take it up, that just makes it so much more valuable.

“It helped put things in perspective when we were feeling so low. When we got results that we were disappointed with and feeling those emotions, seeing what we had done goes beyond a week after week result. We want to leave a legacy in the sport for ourselves and I think that’s what we usually have to come back to when we’re in the thick of it because sometimes we get carried away with the result and the performance and we need to realize that we’re still making an impact and that is ultimately what we want to do.”

For now, they’ll work on their Olympic seeding. They’ll clean up the small fixes they need to make.

They will, just as they did last year, “grit up.”

Jaksot(500)

Melissa Humana-Paredes, Gabby Bourne, And The Weight of An Olympic Silver Medal

Melissa Humana-Paredes, Gabby Bourne, And The Weight of An Olympic Silver Medal

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Melissa Humana-Paredes, who won an Olympic silver medal – Canada’s first on the women’s side – with Brandie Wilkerson in Paris this summer. It has been quite the whirlwind of a fall and winter for Humana-Paredes, who went straight into the inaugural AVP League for the Palm Beach Passion and then competed in the Beach Pro Tour Finals. Having had time to reflect, Humana-Paredes, Bourne and Pod Mama Gabby Bourne chat about: The pursuit of a gold medal at an Olympic Games, and the ever-existential question: Was it all worth it? How different – if at all – Mel’s life would be if she and Wilkerson won gold as opposed to silver The highs and lows of having a life revolving around competition How finding happiness should not be contingent on external achievements. And much, much more. Gabby absolutely shines in her debut as a guest-host (and soon to be mother of two! Such a good episode! SHOOTS! *** Unlock your peak athleticism with Root and Fruit Nutrition and the Genomic Edge. Stop leaving yourself vulnerable to data breaches and brokers. Go to my sponsor https://aura.com/sandcast to get a 14-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed  WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

22 Tammi 1h 21min

Marlie Monserez: Building The PVF And Atlanta Vibe From The Ground Up

Marlie Monserez: Building The PVF And Atlanta Vibe From The Ground Up

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Marlie Monserez, who is currently in her second year with the upstart indoor volleyball league, the PVF (Professional Volleyball Federation). Monserez was a standout at the University of Florida before transferring to UCLA to play beach volleyball under Stein Metzger. On this episode, we: Explore her unique journey through volleyball, including her transition from indoor to beach volleyball, her decision to join the PVF and Athletes Unlimited, and her experiences at UCLA. How Marlie Monserez navigated the transfer portal, and the wild wild west dynamic of that landscape Why returning to beach volleyball was the best thing she could have done for her indoor career Her first year with the Atlanta Vibe and the PVF, which was successful both as an individual and a team And much, much more. SHOOTS! *** Unlock your peak athleticism with Root and Fruit Nutrition and the Genomic Edge. Stop leaving yourself vulnerable to data breaches and brokers. Go to my sponsor https://aura.com/sandcast to get a 14-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed  WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

17 Tammi 59min

SANDCAST Greatest Hits: Zana Muno: Beach volleyball’s hustling, diving, gritty ’chic farmer’

SANDCAST Greatest Hits: Zana Muno: Beach volleyball’s hustling, diving, gritty ’chic farmer’

Welcome to SANDCAST Greatest Hits! Given that our podcast, hosted by Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is on its eighth year, and we have accumulated more viewers and listeners every year – 52% of our listeners discovered us in 2024 alone – we wanted to rewind and replay the best of the best from our podcast history. So, throughout 2025, once a month we will be replaying one of our most-listened-to episodes, beginning with our most popular of all-time: Zana Muno. This episode was recorded in January of 2022, and so much has happened since including, of course, Zana Muno retiring from beach volleyball. It makes episodes like this that much more intriguing to listen to, to see where the players were at then vs. where they are now. If you’re a longtime listener, enjoy the replay, and if you’re new, well, enjoy the most popular episode we’ve ever done! SHOOTS! PHOTO: Mark Rigney *** WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

10 Tammi 1h 10min

Alexis Durish: Taking FSU Beach Volleyball to "A Whole 'Nother Level"

Alexis Durish: Taking FSU Beach Volleyball to "A Whole 'Nother Level"

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter is the debut of our FSU Beach Volleyball studios! Fittingly enough, it features one of Florida State's best players in Alexis Durish, a junior who is coming off a NORCECA gold medal and set to continue building on a record of 60-11 in two years in Tallahassee. In this episode, we chat about: The explosion of juniors beach volleyball, even since Durish, just 20, was a junior Why this fall was so different at Florida State, in a good way, even if it did mean “sucking” The learning curve of NCAA beach volleyball players Why California is no longer mandatory for beach volleyball players to pursue a career in the sport And much, much more. SHOOTS! *** WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

8 Tammi 1h 1min

The 2024 Beach Pro Tour Player Awards

The 2024 Beach Pro Tour Player Awards

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is the annual Beach Pro Tour Awards Show. As with the 2023 Awards, all of these are 100 percent player voted, with a month-long nomination process, and then a two-week final voting process. Some of the winners might surprise you, some will not. This episode delivers awards in the following categories: Team of the Year Most Valuable Beach Volleyball Player of the Year Best Offensive Player Best Defensive Player Best Server Best Blocker Most Improved Rookie of the Year Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Man of the Year Event of the Year SHOOTS! *** Use code SANDCAST for 10% off The Genomic Edge Program now through December 31st! https://root-and-fruit-nutrition.mykajabi.com/the-genomic-edge-program WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Love the insights from this episode? Make sure you never miss a beat with Chatpods! Whether you're commuting, working out, or just on the go, Chatpods lets you capture and summarize key takeaways effortlessly. Save time, stay organized, and keep your thoughts at your fingertips. Download Chatpods directly from App Store or Google Play and use it to listen to this podcast today! https://www.chatpods.com/?fr=TravisMewhirter   Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

1 Tammi 44min

Tri Bourne, Evan Cory, and The Biggest New Partnership in Beach Volleyball

Tri Bourne, Evan Cory, and The Biggest New Partnership in Beach Volleyball

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter (and Savvy Simo in this case) features the host himself, Bourne, with his NEW PARTNER: Evan Cory. That’s right: Tri Bourne and Evan Cory are partnering up for the 2025 beach volleyball season. They talk about that, of course, as well as: Cory’s recent season with Alison, and all that he learned Why the AVP League is a significant focus for American beach volleyball players this season World Championships in Australia, and that being the Big Goal for Tri Bourne and Evan Cory Winning bringing a sense of relief and validation to all that hard work The importance of celebrating milestones, like Cory’s win in Haikou And so, so much more. GOLD MINE OF AN EPISODE!! *** Use code SANDCAST for 10% off The Genomic Edge Program now through December 31st! https://root-and-fruit-nutrition.mykajabi.com/the-genomic-edge-program WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Love the insights from this episode? Make sure you never miss a beat with Chatpods! Whether you're commuting, working out, or just on the go, Chatpods lets you capture and summarize key takeaways effortlessly. Save time, stay organized, and keep your thoughts at your fingertips. Download Chatpods directly from App Store or Google Play and use it to listen to this podcast today! https://www.chatpods.com/?fr=TravisMewhirter   Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

24 Joulu 20241h 11min

The Bello Brothers: Becoming The Fastest-Rising Team in Beach Volleyball

The Bello Brothers: Becoming The Fastest-Rising Team in Beach Volleyball

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features co-host Kyle Friend and our good friends, Javier Bello and Joaquin Bello, better known, of course, as the Bello Brothers. And they are one of the fastest-rising teams on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, beginning in Challenge qualifiers, ending at the Doha Beach Pro Tour Finals, stunning Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, winning a gold medal at the Rio Elite16 – it’s A LOT. We chatted about all of that, as well as: Why Joaquin doesn’t think this year’s success has been sudden at all How in the world the Bello Brothers have gotten so good training in England Why qualifying at the Rio Elite16 was actually a better feeling than beating Anders Mol and Christian Sorum…or winning gold in the whole event Why, hilariously, Joquin was more scared of Travis Mewhirter at the net than Anders Mol And much, much more. SHOOTS! *** Use code SANDCAST for 10% off The Genomic Edge Program now through December 31st! https://root-and-fruit-nutrition.mykajabi.com/the-genomic-edge-program WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Love the insights from this episode? Make sure you never miss a beat with Chatpods! Whether you're commuting, working out, or just on the go, Chatpods lets you capture and summarize key takeaways effortlessly. Save time, stay organized, and keep your thoughts at your fingertips. Download Chatpods directly from App Store or Google Play and use it to listen to this podcast today! https://www.chatpods.com/?fr=TravisMewhirter   Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

18 Joulu 20241h 18min

The McKibbin Brothers, And The Balancing Act of Entertainment And Competition

The McKibbin Brothers, And The Balancing Act of Entertainment And Competition

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features the McKibbin Bros – with a twist. Maddison McKibbin and the youngest Beard(less) Bro, Jameson McKibbin, makes his podcast debut. Together, the three McKibbin brothers have changed the game in terms of how beach volleyball is covered, creating content that had never been done in the sport, establishing a presence on the AVP Tour. In this episode, the boys chat about: The dynamics of the inaugural AVP League, focusing on the experiences of the McKibbin brothers and their journey in the sport. It delves into team dynamics, the evolution of player interactions, and the impact of fan engagement on the sport's growth. The discussion also highlights the challenges and insights gained from being part of the AVP League, including the introduction of new concepts like walk-ins and the importance of team chemistry. The evolving dynamics of volleyball, focusing on how players showcase their personalities, the balance between entertainment and competition, and the importance of fun in the sport. The first year of the AVP League, the significance of partnerships, and insights into female players' contributions to the game. The need for authenticity and creativity in sports, as well as the impact of fan engagement on player performance. SHOOTS! *** Use code SANDCAST for 10% off The Genomic Edge Program now through December 31st! https://root-and-fruit-nutrition.mykajabi.com/the-genomic-edge-program     WE'VE GOT NEW MERCH! Check it out here!! Love the insights from this episode? Make sure you never miss a beat with Chatpods! Whether you're commuting, working out, or just on the go, Chatpods lets you capture and summarize key takeaways effortlessly. Save time, stay organized, and keep your thoughts at your fingertips. Download Chatpods directly from App Store or Google Play and use it to listen to this podcast today! https://www.chatpods.com/?fr=TravisMewhirter   Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST63. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try! Want to get better at beach volleyball? Use our discount code, SANDCAST, and get 10 percent off all Better at Beach products!  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/

11 Joulu 20241h 36min

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