RIO DE JANEIRO — It was guaranteed win day at the idyllic spot that gets our vote for the most spectacular Olympic venue of them all here in Brazil.
The sun. The surf. The sand. The beyond-brilliant cloudless blue sky.
And better yet, Canadian women were a guaranteed lock to move on to the quarter-finals in beach volleyball at Copacabana, the birthplace of one of the coolest sports going.
As predicted, Canada did indeed advance from the Round of 16 with Sarah Pavan of Kitchener, Ont. and Heather Bansley of Waterdown, Ont. rolling to a straight set 21-16, 21-11 win. And, yes, it was never in doubt that Canadians would move on, because their opponents under the high-noon sun were fellow Canucks Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas.
It was clear that the better of the two Canadian entries advanced, although this wasn’t exactly like a red vs. black bikini intra-squad match.
The two pairs had met six times on the pro tour, but they don’t train together and don’t spend time away from the beach in the same circles. Other than the joint pursuit of winning a medal for Canada and being part of their country’s Olympic team, it is a mercenary pursuit, a mindset both tried to carry into Saturday’s match.
“We were approaching it like a normal tournament and didn’t put more weight on this match than any other match,” Pavan said of Saturday’s clash with a quarter-final berth on the line. “It wasn’t any different than usual. We are two separately functioning entities. We don’t hang out, normally. It’s unfortunate. I know we both wanted to go through and we didn’t want to match up so early. Once we did it was, hey, this is just another team in our way.”
Pavan and Bansley — who cruised through group play undefeated — didn’t run into much trouble moving past the lower-ranked of the two Canadian teams that qualified for Rio. Their strong defensive and blocking game was too much for Broder and Valjas and a 6-0 start to the second set as good as ended things.
“They are playing awesome, they’re dialled in and they’re obviously very focused,” Valjas said. “They came very prepared for today. It’s a mind battle as much as a physical battle out there, especially when you’re playing your own country. Hats off to them, they played a really, really great game. I’m sure they will go far in the tournament because they are playing really strong.”
Among the medal contenders coming in, Pavan and Bansley now find themselves in the thick of a medal hunt at one of the liveliest venues at these Games. Gold and silver is expected to go to the two Brazilian teams, but winning their pool has helped the Canadians, who came to Rio seeded fifth.
Although the stadium — mere steps from the surf — was half full for the all-Canadian match, it gets rocking when Brazil plays and the nightly midnight matches add more flair to the already lively Copacabana party zone.
The boisterous Canadian contingent brought its own special vibe on Saturday, however, one not lost on the four competitors.
“I think it’s more fun, because you know in the crowd everyone is cheering for Canada, and it adds a lot more of a mental aspect to the game,” Valjas said. “It’s already super competitive on tour, but when you want to beat someone in your country, you want to make a statement when doing so. I think it adds a little grit. Unfortunately, we did not and still have not, but there’s still time.”
When that time will come for Broder and Valjas remains to be seen, as they have now lost all seven meetings with their compatriots.
On the up side, at least one Canadian team made it through to the quarters and both teams leave Rio officially credited with a top 10 finish, an important designation for funding. It was just the luck of the draw that they had to face each other.