The best Montenegrin volleyball players are preparing for friendly matches with the Hungarian team in Kolašin, and coach Jovo Caković expects good "feedback" after three matches with the finalists of the recently concluded CEV Golden League.
Feedback - on the state of the team, the level at which the team is on the eve of the European Championship qualifiers and the decisive duels against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Goražde on August 6th and Latvia in Kolašin four days later, writes Odbojka.me.
That level is definitely much better than it was in May, when it first brought together players who were preparing for their debut in the CEV Gold League.
"It's not that it's a higher level, this is a different dimension compared to the Golden League," says Caković, who has reduced the list of players who will compete for the final qualifiers from 20 to 16 names.
Compared to the CEV Golden League matches, Montenegro is stronger for Danijela Džaković and the recovered Melisa Cenović and Simona Petranović.
"If we had played the Golden League matches with this squad, everything would have been different. I'm sure we would have had more than one victory - maybe two or three, some matches in which we won a set or two would definitely have ended with a victory. We took a set from Ukraine, who won the Golden League, and in the second match played in Podgorica, we also took a set from the finalists Hungary, with the score at 1:1 we had a 20:19 lead. We were competitive with that squad. But, it was a debut and everything has its own, you usually learn more from defeats than from victories."
Daca, Melisa and Simona significantly improved the team's "blood picture" compared to the beginning of May, but even without them - the girls progressed, the team progressed, believes Caković.
"To put it as concretely as possible - it's clear that we've been doing something. Now it looks much more fluid, with a great working atmosphere."
The matches with Hungary in Kolašin - one open, on July 26th, and two closed ones - will serve well before the decisive matches in the qualifiers.
have their specific purpose:
"I believe that Hungary will be a real test for Latvia. The Hungarians have a left-handed player who is the main attacker, the same is true with the Latvian team. And the composition of the defense is completely different when you have a left-handed player on the other side who is the main attacker. I just hope that Hungary will be complete, that they will come with the strongest squad, because hanging out with them and the friendly matches will be real tests."
Next comes the main thing - the finish of the qualifiers. Victories over Bosnia and Herzegovina and Latvia would mathematically bring Montenegro a place in the European Championship.
"It's a good thing that Latvia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are playing each other on August 2nd, before the matches with us. We will get a tape from that duel, which will be very useful in preparing for our matches. BiH hasn't played in a long time, they will also have some friendly matches, which we will also analyze, we know that Latvia is a solid and disciplined team," says Caković.
The most important thing, however, is Montenegro.
"Just staying healthy, that's the basis of everything," concludes the Montenegro coach.
His shortlist included 16 players.
Technicians: Marija Šušić, Viktoria Đukić, Tijana Tvrdišić.
Service recipients: Danijela Džaković, Simona Petranović, Nevena Vukčević, Teodora Čavić, Darja Popović.
Correctors: Nikoleta Perović, Kristina Božović.
Middle blockers: Saška Đurović, Mina Dragović, Katarina Budrak, Lana Rakočević.
Free: Melisa Cenović, Ksenija Krunić.
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