Poland’s ticket to the championship round
2023.12.01
Poland’s dominant performance at the EEVZA qualifier earned them a spot in the EuroVolleyU18W Final Round.
At the single round robin tournament held in Daugavpils, Latvia, on Sunday, Team Poland concluded the EEVZA qualifier for the #EuroVolleyU18W tournament of the following year with a perfect record of six wins in as many matches. On the last day of competition, they shut out the hosts, Latvia, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-18). Ukraine, Estonia, Georgia, and Lithuania, the teams ranked second through fifth, will resume their quest in the second qualifying round, which is set for the spring of 2024. Poland has advanced to the #EuroVolleyU18W Final Round, which will take place in Greece in early July with an additional host nation to be confirmed. Poland declared themselves the 2023 EEVZA champions in this age group as a result of this outcome.“Green joy” is doubled by Panathinaikos
“It was our goal to win this tournament and qualify for the European Championship. The first game with the Ukrainian team was the toughest in this tournament. It was the crucial match to finish first because the Ukrainian ended up in second and that win gave us a place in the Final Round,.”
Marcin Orlik, Poland’s head coach status
“Today’s game made me very happy; it was definitely one of our best, even though it wasn’t our best. After the game, Latvia’s coach Milan Bratić praised the Polish team, saying, “We fought and finally saw something positive on the court, even though it came a bit too late.” “The players and us, the coaches, found the tournament to be challenging. The girls could play and relax, but we had to get ready for the next round of games, which would happen one after the other. I believe that every player is worn out. The schedule of six games in seven days is peculiar.
“We all wanted to win, but our on-court performance prevented us from doing so. Elizabete Barone, the captain of the Latvian team, speculated that there might not have been enough training or inter-team communication. “Playing such international matches gives you a unique and valuable experience, and this tournament gave me a lot of emotions.”
Latvia held the match close on Sunday until the first set ended at 8 all, but Poland’s three-point run set them up for victory. In the opening moments of the second set, Latvia took a brief lead (6-3) thanks to the absence of Polish sensation Natasza Ornoch, but Poland responded with six straight points to tie the score at 14-14. Similar events unfolded in the third set as Latvia made a strong effort to tie the match at eight all, but Poland broke free and won 3-0 thanks to a service error made by Katrina Zarina. Ornoch and Gabriela Robinska scored ten points apiece for Poland, while Karmena Struka scored eleven points for Latvia, including half of her attempted spikes.
Earlier on the final competition day, Georgia beat Azerbaijan in straight sets and Ukraine edged Lithuania 3-1. The set won by Lithuania was enough to secure fifth place in the final standing ahead of hosts Latvia and with it a spot in the next round of qualifiers scheduled for mid-April 2024.
At the end, the organisers of the EEVZA competition awarded the best player of each participating team as follows:
• Natasza Ornoch (Poland)
• Kateryna Zhylinska (Ukraine)
• Anette Arak (Estonia)
• Magda Kobaidze (Georgia)
• Diana Ivcenkaite (Lithuania)
• Karmena Struka (Latvia)
• Aisha Alismanova (Azerbaijan)
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