Sarah and Melissa reflect on semifinal defeat

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Sarah Pavan said afterwards she just wanted to turn back the clock and play the game again

It was a mark of how far they had come to be disappointed with a World Tour Finals semifinal defeat to the Olympic and World Champions.

Yet Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan believe they can use the experience to good use in the years to come after their defeat to Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst.

“I think the fact we are so disappointed with a loss in the semifinals, against the best teams in the world against a team like Laura and Kira, shows how our expectations have changed,” Melissa said afterwards.

“It is a hiccup, that’s not to say we’re not proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but we need to build and grow as a team and we want to be the best and go on and win titles.

“This is year one – the first of three before the Olympics. It would be scary if we plateaued right now. We know we can only get better.”

For Pavan, the blocker just wanted to turn back the clock and reflected on what might have been in front of a big partisan crowd.

“We had chances, I wish we could go back and play again,” she said. “We got a lot of opportunities and we were a little shaky. I can’t take anything away from the way they played, they are a good team and they kept the pressure on us – that’s why they won the World Champs.

“But we can’t dwell on it; we’ve got to prepare for the bronze medal match. We will fight for bronze and we hope we can end the season on the podium.”

The Canadians will take on Brazilian 2015 World Tour Finals champions Larissa/Talita for third place on Saturday – you can watch that match live on BeachStream. Click here to sign-up – it’s free!

A huge crowd gathered to watch the semifinal at the Red Bull Beach Arena