The Lithuanian national team coached by Mateusz Zarczynski has simultaneously returned to the European and world country rankings. Currently, the Lithuanian team is ranked 32nd in the European ranking (CEV) and 61st in the world ranking (Volleyball World).
The coach of the Lithuanian national team is pleased with the team’s performance in Denmark, where they defeated the Danish and Luxembourg teams 3:0, and the last match loss 2:3 against Albania did not prevent them from taking first place.
“We had good preparation before this tournament. From the very beginning, we knew that the first match against the Danes would be very important, so in this meeting we showed our best volleyball both from a sporting and emotional side as well as concentration. The first victory allowed us to feel psychologically lighter. Honestly, nothing surprised me too much in Denmark – I expected to secure a ticket to the European League after the first two days, I just didn’t think both wins would be so convincing,” said M. Zarczynski.
The main stage of the European League starts this weekend. Because of this, the Lithuanian women have little time for additional training.
“The tournament in Denmark demanded a lot of emotional and physical strength. We saw that in the third match. Now our priority is to recover as quickly as possible both physically and psychologically as a team. We don’t have much time to improve various things because before the European League we only have two training sessions. Therefore, we focus on recovery, rhythm, and mindset for the new start,” emphasized the coach.
The Lithuanian volleyball players will start their European League journey in Osijek (Croatia), where on Saturday they will face the Greek team, and on Sunday – the Croatian team.
The Greek national team ranks 30th in the world ranking and 18th in Europe. Women’s clubs from this country constantly compete in the strongest European tournaments. The Croatians are 35th in the world ranking and 20th in Europe.
“Yes, now we will meet stronger opponents, but sometimes it is even easier to play like this than being the favorites. We will go to Croatia to fight. I don’t want to talk about results; I want us to fight, give our all, and win as many sets as possible. Whether we manage to win the matches, I don’t know yet, but we want to leave our hearts on the court and walk off with our heads held high after each match,” said M. Zarczynski.
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On June 12-13, the Lithuanian volleyball players will visit Sweden, where they will meet the teams of this country and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on June 19-21, the Lithuanian national team will play in their own country, hosting the teams of Portugal and Romania.
A total of 24 teams from the Old Continent will compete in the CEV European League. After summing up the results of all groups, the final team ranking will be revealed, and the four strongest teams will participate in the final stage.
A challenge for both the national team and the federation
The president of the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation (LTF), Darius Čerka, is pleased with the return and demonstrated play of the Lithuanian national team.
“Qualifying for the main stage of the CEV European League is a very big challenge for both our team and the entire Lithuanian Volleyball Federation. The girls have already proven that they deserve to compete at the European level – their performance in the qualifiers showed character, maturity, and belief in their abilities. After a ten-year break, the restored Lithuanian women’s national team is already making a very strong impression. I think all this is natural – in sports, every result has its own time,” said D. Čerka.
At the same time, the LTF president admits that a successful return and campaign in the European League require increasingly greater resources. These are new challenges for the LTF.
“Participation at this level requires extraordinary financial decisions and additional resources. We hope that the performance of Lithuanian volleyball players in Europe under our country’s flag will attract the attention of those responsible for making decisions about sports funding. Such achievements show that investments in volleyball can yield real results and create Lithuania’s sports success stories on the international stage,” emphasized D. Čerka.
