Marie-Alex Bélanger knew indoor volleyball “by heart” when she turned to beach volleyball in 2022. The learning has multiplied since then, to the great happiness of the woman who has rediscovered her passion for the sport.
The Quebecer’s third season in beach volleyball concluded this week at the qualifiers for the Pro Tour Elite 16 tournament presented in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The duo she formed with Ontario’s Lea Monkhouse lost 2-1 after a close duel against Americans Madelyne Anderson and Brook Bauer, the same opponents who defeated them in the final of the Futures tournament in Halifax, last August.
In Rio, the reigning Canadian champions won the first set 21-19 and lost the second 21-18. The tiebreaker went in favor of the Americans with a score of 15-11. “A great battle,” as Marie-Alex Bélanger summed up at Sportcom.
“The second set was played point by point. We allowed two good sequences at inopportune moments and escaped a very close round. In the end, we made a lot of mistakes that we should have avoided,” shared Bélanger, disappointed not to have taken revenge against the duo of Anderson and Bauer.
“We know we can beat them and that it’s not a talent gap. When it’s your side of the net that causes you to lose, it’s more frustrating. They did nothing exceptional and we fought ourselves,” she added.
Both injured since their second place in Halifax, Marie-Alex Bélanger and Lea Monkhouse were limited to training for a few weeks and were not entitled to optimal preparation before leaving for Brazil. They traveled to South America for the João Pessoa tournament, where they placed 17th with one win and one loss.
Participation in the Rio de Janeiro tournament was added subsequently and the two Canadians took the opportunity to gain experience in the international circuit. In addition to their podium in Halifax, they took part in three NORCECA continental tournaments this season, winning a silver medal in Nicaragua.
The right partnership
Marie-Alex Bélanger and Lea Monkhouse have been teaming up for two seasons. Their paths crossed when Molly McBain, then partner of Marie-Alex, joined Sarah Pavan, in search of Olympic qualification.
“We never understood why we hadn’t tried to play together before,” Bélanger said of Monkhouse. We practiced together and we were both looking for a partner. We get along well on and off the field. You don’t have to get along with each of your teammates in indoor volleyball, but it’s vital in beach volleyball! »
Not entirely knowing what type of player she was in her new discipline, Bélanger also didn’t know which teammate would best meet her needs. She tried her luck with a few players before coming across Lea Monkhouse, also a member of the national team and who played four years with the UCLA Bruins in California.
What was different this time? And how do we know if this partnership is the right one?
“We know it when things aren’t going well, when you lose matches and you’re disappointed,” replied Marie-Alex Bélanger, laughing. When you win, everything is fine! It’s like a honeymoon…”
Their honeymoon started with a second place, then they became national champions in the next competition. Some poor performances followed and the duo was able to see how they reacted in defeat.
“Beach volleyball is very intense, you invest time and money and there is a lot at stake. You have no income if you don’t win, it can bring out the best and worst in people,” described Marie-Alex Bélanger, who continues to adapt to this environment.
“We’re still getting to know each other. It’s funny to say, but it’s really like a relationship! You have to be able to understand the other person’s ups and downs. It’s not a magic wand, it’s a full-time job. »
“There’s work to be done”
When Marie-Alex Bélanger discusses her beginnings on the sand, sending a ball over a net seems to be the only commonality between beach volleyball and indoor volleyball. Movements, strategies and techniques vary, as does the environment in which the athletes operate.
“I had never experienced anything like beach volleyball. That exposes a lot of things! Your doubts, your strengths, what you need to work on… you are really left to your own devices. My brain had a hard time understanding why I wasn’t successful right away,” confided the former star volleyball player for the Université de Montréal Carabins, who also played with the national team as well as in a professional league, in Switzerland.
Despite his success, spending all his time in a gym no longer interested him. The athlete from Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez simply needed a change and she got it.
“It’s another universe! The points needed to get into tournaments, the financial stress, having to pay for everything to travel and be able to go play. These are challenges that I have never faced before. In indoor volleyball, the team is there and you get a salary. Here you have to be sure of what you want to do, because you’re putting a lot of things on the line.”
By her own admission, Marie-Alex Bélanger will have “a lot of work to do” in the coming months. She will leave Brazil with a long list of things to work on, but she says she is motivated to take on this challenge alongside her more experienced teammate.
“I always tended to turn to my coach, but here we are left to our own devices. […] In indoor volleyball, I knew the sport so much that I knew what was going to happen before it happened. I knew the sport by heart, but here, I don’t have that. My beach volleyball IQ isn’t great, I have a lot of video sessions to do! »
The Canadian team shone in Paris this summer thanks to Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, the country’s first Olympic medalists in beach volleyball. One of Marie-Alex Bélanger’s goals will be to participate in the Games in four years.
“At 31, if my goal is Los Angeles 2028, I have no time to lose. I can’t take this lightly. If I commit, it’s all in and I know it’s going to be intense, but I really want to become the best player I can be. It’s a good challenge, but that’s always what motivated me. »
