The Latvian women’s volleyball team also lost in the third game of the European Silver League tournament in Zenica on Sunday. Latvians lost to Estonia with the result 0-3 (18:25, 22:25, 19:25).
Ingrīda Šveigere, Pauls Nikola Ņčiporuka, Elvita Dolotova, Lāsma Ozola, Anna Rīta, Vlada Pridatko, as well as “libero” players – Elīna Zvaigzne and Kristīne Kramēna started the game for Latvia, but later Katrīna Paula Krustkalne did not play on the field. Pridatko was the most productive in the Latvian team with 15 points, but Ozola scored five points. Opponents 14 points in Lisa Kullerkann’s account.
Dolotova scored the first point in the match with a serve, but after a similar start, when the draw on the board was 5: 5 last time, the Estonians gradually increased their rebound, winning the set with 25:18. In the second set, almost from the very beginning, Estonia gained the upper hand and led the set to victory, allowing Latvians to approach one end only at the end of the set (23:22) and winning the set with 25:22. At the beginning of the third set, the Latvians took the lead five times, but then the opponents achieved a comfortable advantage, which fluctuated within five points in the second half of the set, and won with 25:19. “Opponents had a more orderly bloc than us. Her block was placed directly opposite our beats and we did not manage to score points in the attack. We made a lot of mistakes in the serve, making mistakes several times in a row, ”Megija Dambrehte evaluated the game in a conversation with the Latvian Volleyball Federation (LVF).
“Feelings are great, girls are fantastic. The coaches support, ”says the volleyball player about her debut in the national team. “Today, the square did not go as well as I would like. Also yesterday, when I was admitted to the last games, there was no attack, because there was a good block in front. It went best on the first day – I saved, beat and assembled good blocks. ” It has already been reported that in the first two games Latvia lost three sets to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Portugal. In Group B, after three games, the leader with seven points is Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia has scored six points, Portugal has five points, and Latvia is still fighting for the first points.
After the rest on Monday from Tuesday to Thursday, Latvian volleyball players will play three more games with the same opponents in the same order as in the first round. The final tournament with the participation of four teams is planned for June 11 and 12, 2021 in the Slovenian city of Maribor. Slovenia already has a place in it. It will therefore be joined by the winners of both groups and the best runner-up, excluding Slovenia. Before the European League competitions, the Latvian national team played in the qualifying tournament of the European Championship, experiencing six losses in the group against the teams of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, accumulating a set ratio of 1-18.
Before the tournament on the last day of April, the Latvian national team in Minsk lost to Belarus in a test game in three sets. The two teams planned to play another game, but two people who were involved in the first match were diagnosed with Covid-19, as a result of which the national team returned to Daugavpils. On April 13, the Latvian women’s volleyball team started preparing for the qualification tournament with 22 players, but after less than a week the coaches left 16 volleyball players.
Composition of the Latvian women’s volleyball team for the European Silver League games in Zenica
diagonal players – Vladas Pridatko, Katrīna Paula Krustkalne (both – “Riga Volleyball School” / “University of Latvia” (RVS / LU)), Megija Dambrehte (“Riga Stradiņš University” / “Inguna Minus Volleyball School” (RSU / MVS)) ; first tempo players – Anna Rīta (RSU / MVS), Lāsma Ozola; applicants: Elza Reknere (both RVS / LU), Elvita Dolotova (KP Brno, Czech Republic); second pace players – Ingrida Schweiger (PSVBG Salzburg, Austria), Paul Nikol Nechiporuk (Virginia Commonwealth University Rams, NCAA), Petra Nechiporuk (RVS / LU), Anija Juržža (RSU / MVS); “Libero” – Elīna Zvaigzne, Kristīne Kramēna (both – RVS / LU).
