By reaching the second round of the European Championship qualifiers, as well as the games they played at the zonal qualifying tournament in Sofia, the Montenegrin women's U18 volleyball team fulfilled the goal for which they were preparing for the performance in Bulgaria.
This is the assessment of our young volleyball coach Milan Milošević, who emphasizes that the ambition remains the same - reaching the finals of the European Championship, but also that as many tournaments as possible; as many matches with strong opponents as possible, will help the players develop and progress.
We played in Sofia, and soon, in March, we will play the second round of qualifications. We will see where and against whom. Before that, in Italy, we will also have a preparatory tournament. That is great, because every tournament is a great experience, all those matches with teams, some of which are of European and world level, help the girls, Milošević points out.
Montenegro made it through a tough group in Sofia with hosts Bulgaria, Greece and Kosovo, and by reaching the semi-finals, they fulfilled their goal of advancing to the second round of the qualifiers. In the semi-finals, they met Turkey, who were too strong for Anastasija Koprivica and her teammates – at least at this point.
He would go back to the very beginning of the gathering, from the preparations in Stara Pazova where we had a great 10 days, were very diligent in the presence of the senior team coach Jovo Caković. Then we went to Sofia and in the first round against Greece we played the most demanding match of the tournament. Especially because we didn't have much information about the opponent, we had to get to know them on the fly. We were losing 2:0, we won 3:2, and that was a match in which this generation showed both quality and character, says Milošević.
Some of the girls who were in Sofia already had the opportunity to play in the European Championship last summer at a younger age (U16) - it was the first generation of our women's volleyball team to qualify for a major competition through the qualifications.
This was also seen in Sofia, not just in the match against Greece.
"I think our second match, against Bulgaria, was our best of the tournament. Against the hosts, the current European champions in this age group, a very strong team, we took the lead, won one set, were on the verge of winning another set. We did a good job against Kosovo in the last match of the group, and then in the semi-finals we ran into Turkey, a very strong team, both in volleyball and physically, who ultimately won the tournament," Milošević points out.
All in all, we have achieved what we set out to do, we are waiting for the second round and I am sure that this generation has the quality to qualify for the European Championship and continue the continuity of qualifying for major competitions.
The senior national team of Montenegro, on whose bench Milošević sits as the first assistant to Jovo Caković, will compete at EuroVolley for the first time in history in Gothenburg in August.
The entire pyramid works systematically, from the base to the top, and that is the best possible thing that Montenegrin women's volleyball has at the moment. We strive for the children who come to be at the technical, tactical and physical level so that one day they can inherit the generation of senior women who will play in the European Championship. They have talent and potential, which is fantastic and Montenegro has a huge chance to be on the map of European volleyball, and not just on the map of the Balkans. It has already shown that, including at this last tournament in Sofia where it happened that one Serbia did not advance for the second time, Milošević points out.
He didn't want to single out names, not least because it was still about children.
But also because the team is truly our greatest strength. Players who have great talent and who are ready to work and learn. We have great support from the Volleyball Federation of Montenegro, from working conditions to the organization itself. So we have all the conditions to grow as a whole, concludes Milošević.
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