Monique Matthews Found Purpose And Acceptance With Team USA’s Sitting Volleyball

Sometimes, a chance event can set you on an entirely new course.

That’s what happened some 13 years ago for Monique Matthews, when the now 33-year-old from Choctaw, Oklahoma, visited a new prosthetist’s office and picked up a brochure.

Growing up in Ardmore, Oklahoma, Matthews (née Burkland) had been a three-sport athlete at Plainview High School, competing in softball, basketball and track. She was working a summer job at Circuit City, mulling over whether she should head to college to play softball or enter the military. Then, a warehouse accident cost her a foot.

“After that happened, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life,” Matthews said. “I basically laid at home for two years, doing nothing. And I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’”

The brochure introduced her to Team USA’s sitting volleyball program, which offered a training camp just 90 minutes away from her home.

“So I contacted them and ever since then, it’s been history,” she said. “I fell in love with it, and they kept inviting me back (to camps), and here I am today.”

Now a three-time Paralympian and three-time medalist, Matthews played a key role in helping the U.S. women earn qualification to the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 when they won the ParaVolley Pan American Zonal Championship in May in Edmonton, Alberta. In winning that event, the women became the first U.S. team to qualify for the Paris Paralympics. Matthews was named MVP.

“(The sport) probably saved me because I had no idea where my life was going,” Matthews said. “It is so depressing, thinking that you can’t do anything. It really gave me opportunities, because now I get to travel and do all this great stuff.”

When Matthews spoke with TeamUSA.org recently, she was en route to the airport for a flight to the Netherlands, where the U.S. team was entered in a round-robin tournament in Assen, a small, historic city loaded with Dutch charm. Sitting volleyball has a special connection to the Dutch: the sport was invented there in 1956 as a rehabilitation activity for injured soldiers.

“(Assen) is a quaint town, and we usually just ride a bike from the hotel (to the venue) — it’s a beautiful ride,” Matthews said. “Any teams who want to come, can enter. There are seven teams total, so we’ll play twice a day, six times total.”

The event is a great way to gear up for the higher-stakes competitions in the fall.

For Matthews and the U.S. team, the tournament ended Sunday with another win. Matthews scored eight points in the final, a sweep against Great Britain, including five on aces.

“Dynasty” is sometimes overused in sports, but after winning gold at both the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics, Matthews and her teammates hope to build one. They hit a speed bump at last November’s World ParaVolley Championships in Sarajevo, though, losing to Brazil in the semifinals before defeating Slovenia to win the bronze medal.

“For that tournament, we had a bunch of different lineups because we had a couple of (regular) players that were out due to pregnancy,” Matthews said. “So we had to basically kind of start from scratch, with a few core people. We were playing through different lineups and figuring out what worked, and what didn’t work.”

The loss fired up the team for this year’s campaign, as the Americans showed in Edmonton and Assen.

“From (Sarajevo) on, all of us are pushing harder — just little stuff like higher passes, taking one more push to get to a ball,” Matthews said. “It’s just all that little stuff that you need to connect, to make it easier.”

Still, there isn’t anything easy about sitting volleyball. It’s a physical, fast-paced endeavor that requires tremendous upper-body strength and fitness.

“With social media and stuff, we get a lot of people that think, ‘Oh, it’s a lazy person’s (sport), they’re sitting, I want to try that,’” Matthews said. “But in a lot of aspects, it’s harder than standing (volleyball), because we have to use our arms to pass and move and hit — literally, we do everything with our arms. So, just the amount of time you have for each skill is ridiculously fast. I think that’s why I love it so much, just because of how difficult it is.”

The rules are the same as the original form of volleyball, but players must remain at least half-seated on the floor whenever they contact the ball. It’s also possible to block the serve, something Matthews does well: USA Volleyball named her best blocker at the 2020 Paralympics. But it’s her versatility — she is equally adept at blocking and hitting — that helped make her a three-time winner of the organization’s Women’s Sitting Player of the Year award.

“I would call myself a workhorse, I go wherever the team needs me,” Matthews said. “I’ll play any position needed and work my butt off. Technically, I play outside, but I will also stay middle (the blocking position). I used to be just the plain middle, but I’m a good passer, and the coach didn’t want to take me out of that.”

Her value extends far beyond the court. As a 13-year veteran, Matthews, who also won a Paralympic silver medal in 2012, takes a leadership role with her teammates, often helping newcomers acclimate to the sport and encouraging them to stick with it.

“I definitely do my best to not straight-out tell them what to do, but to show by example,” she said. “This game is hard. It takes a long time to develop skills that are consistent, and we don’t get new players very often, so it’s important to help them along. We want this to be an open, loving place, where they’re going to have a great time but also be competitive.”

At home, Matthews draws support from her husband, Landon Matthews. Proud members of the LGBTQ+ community, the couple married in 2016. Landon later came out as transgender, and recently completed gender-affirmation surgery.

“He is my biggest supporter — he’s the one that pushes me,” Matthews said. “He’s the first one I talk to after a game. He will text me, telling me I did a good job, even when I think I did bad. He is just the best support I could ever ask for.”

Landon’s family does not support his transition, but he has found acceptance within Team USA, where Matthews’ teammates have embraced the couple.

“Pride month is so important for these young kids whose families still don’t approve,” Matthews said of the recent four weeks celebrating LGBTQ+ people. “It’s a great way to show younger generations, and even older generations, that being LGBTQ is nothing to be shunned for.”