The roster of the Russian women's national team for the training camp in Novogorsk and the two friendly matches against Serbia has been announced. This was reported by the official website of the Russian federation.
The volleyball players will begin their preparation on July 26. After a week-long training cycle, they will play two friendly matches in Serbia against the hosts.
The "Zarechie" club has the most representatives in the national team – three players. Konstantin Ushakov leads both the Moscow region club and the Russian national team.
"The FIVB decision opens our path to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, therefore all our further preparation will be directed towards the most important tournament in the four-year Olympic cycle. It is for this very reason that we are attracting players to the national team who will not only participate in the Olympic qualification but also have the potential to play at the Olympics in the USA two years from now. Of course, during this long journey, changes are inevitable – hopefully it won't happen, but some might get injured, and others might be hindered by various circumstances. However, the girls are optimistic. They want to prove themselves and make a strong return to the world elite. Furthermore, we will not disrupt the clubs' preparation and we will not call up substitute players – we will play the friendly matches with the volleyball players we have," Ushakov stated, quoted by the official website of the Russian Volleyball Federation.
Russia's Roster:
Setters:Polina Matveeva (Dynamo-Ak Bars), Anna Ozerova (Leningradka).
Opposite Hitters:Tatiana Tolok (Novara, Italy), Vita Akimova (Galatasaray, Turkey).
Middle Blockers:Elizaveta Fitisova (Korabelka), Daria Kiselyova (Lokomotiv), Angelina Lazareva, Anastasia Manzhosova (both from Zarechie), Varvara Sergeeva (Proton).
Outside Hitters:Marina Markova (VakifBank, Turkey), Arina Fedorovtseva (Fenerbahce, Turkey), Irina Voronkova (Jakarta, Indonesia), Olga Biryukova (Zarechie), Irina Kapustina (Lokomotiv).
Liberos:Anna Podkopaeva (Dynamo Krasnodar), Maria Bibina (Dynamo-Ak Bars).
photos: Nikolay Varadinov
