Volleyball players are finishing their preparations at a good pace

After almost four weeks of intensive preparations in Kolašin, and two test matches with Austria, the best Montenegrin volleyball players are ready for the final matches of the 2026 European Championship qualifiers, which await them next week - in Tabor with the Czech Republic and in Kolašin with Norway.

The young team, which is growing together, wants to improve its impression in the second part of Group C, and coach Rastko Milenković emphasizes the good atmosphere as an important asset.

"The atmosphere in the team is at a top level. We have done our preparations with the utmost seriousness, at a great pace and, most importantly, without a single injury. Next week we travel to the Czech Republic, where we will face a strong opponent and a real opportunity to show everything we have worked on. We are going ready and full of confidence to fight until the end, against a team we know well from the Golden League and from previous European Championships. We want the impression of this young team to be positive and to round everything off with a good performance against Norway in Kolašin, at the end of the qualifiers," said the new member of Buducnost.

The team will train at their base at SC "Kolašin" until Tuesday, when they will travel to Tabor, a city in central Bohemia, where they will play their second qualifying match against their EuroVolley 2023 rival and the Podgorica Golden League team this June. It will be the "reds'" third match in Group C of the upcoming championship qualifiers.

After 25 days of training, coach Ivica Jevtić has selected 14 players who will participate in the final preparations and be on the team for the upcoming matches. The list includes: technicians: Rastko Milenković, Marko Joksimović; setters: Đorđe Jovović, Milutin Pavićević and Luka Lojić; serve receivers: Nemanja Peruničić, Vasilije Milenković, Vukašin Cimbaljević and Vuk Stanojević; middle blockers: Nikola Đurović, Matija Ćinćur, Dalibor Lečić and liberos: Andrija Joksimović and Milan Rovčanin.

The match with the Czech Republic will be played on Wednesday, at 18 pm, while the duel with Norway will be on Sunday, August 17, at SC "Kolašin", starting at 19 pm.

Montenegro is without points after last year's qualifying round and two matches, having lost 3:0 to Norway and 3:1 to the Czech Republic.

The European Championship will be played in Bulgaria, Finland, Italy and Romania, and along with the four host teams, the eight best teams from the previous championship (Poland, Slovenia, France, the Netherlands, Serbia, Ukraine, Germany and Portugal) will participate, as well as the winners of the seven qualifying groups and the five best runners-up.