The first MEVZA League tournament for women's volleyball will be held from Tuesday to Thursday in Podgorica, hosted by Budućnost Volej, and the rivals come from Cyprus and Israel - Limesos and Hapoel Kfar Sabi.
The first rival is Limesos (Tuesday at 18 pm), the visiting teams will meet a day later, and on Thursday, Buducnost plays Hapoel (19 pm).
"We are looking forward to participating in the MEVZA League. For the first time in the club's history, we will play in a regional league and a European competition, the Challenge Cup. We are certainly facing a big challenge and we have big matches ahead of us, which will certainly mean a lot to our team. It will definitely be challenging for our team, which is very young and is playing at this level for the first time, but we have certainly prepared during the preparatory period so that we can be as prepared as possible for the competition and perform as well as possible in this League. There is no pressure in terms of results - we are more looking forward to gaining experience and playing big matches. I invite the audience to come and support us in as many numbers as possible," said Budućnost coach Luka Bogojević.
All matches will be played in the sports hall of the "Verde" complex, and the next matches in the MEVZA league will be played by the Podgorica team from December 16th to 18th, when they will play against the teams of Mladost, Dinamo and Maribor.
"We are honored to be playing in a league like MEVZA this year and to be the only women's team to have the opportunity to represent Montenegrin volleyball and show its potential. The preparatory period is behind us, in which we had a lot of games to get ready for what awaits us. We have several reinforcements in the team, primarily in terms of experience, which we may have lacked in previous years. I think we are ready for the first tournament at home and I think it is a big plus that we are opening the competition as hosts. It is important that we have the support of the audience against two quality teams that have experienced individuals. We are ready, maximally motivated and we will do our best to achieve the best possible result," emphasized captain Mileva Magdelinić.
One of the reinforcements for Buducnost is the Russian, Dijana Balaj, recently known as Crnojački, who arrived from Herceg Novi and is returning to volleyball after a long break due to injury.
"I expected to play in the MEVZA league with Herceg Novi, but for three years in a row the club has failed to reach a place among the best teams in this part of Europe. I am glad that I came to Buducnost and that I will have the chance to play in the MEVZA league with a new team. Our first official match is waiting for us - we are very excited, especially since the first match is at home. We have a very nice atmosphere within the team and I think that will mean a lot to us for the game, for the quality, as well as for the development of young players," emphasized Crnojački.
The host of the Final Four tournament will be determined after the second stop of the season, in December 2024. The first-place team will play the fourth-place team, and the semi-final pairings will be completed by the second and third-place teams from the same standings.
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