The women's volleyball team of Ukraine did not make it to the Final Four of the Golden Euroleague

The women's volleyball team of Ukraine could not make it to the Final Four of the Golden Euroleague, which was a real disappointment for the fans. After last year's triumphant victory in the tournament, this year the team led by Ivan Petkov and with the same players performed much worse, suffering two defeats in six matches.

Reasons for failure: lack of competition

At first glance, there were no prerequisites for failure, but a deeper analysis shows a different picture. The team gathered in the spring in a non-competitive state. It is important to note that the national team is formed on the basis of the Prometheus club, which is the champion of Ukraine. However, in fact, out of seven Super League teams, six are financed by the same owner, Volodymyr Dubinsky. Only "Dobrodiy" from Vinnytsia does without his support.

"Prometheus" won all 27 matches of the domestic calendar with a score of 3:0, and this is not due to submission of opponents, but due to the objective reality that other teams are much weaker.

Influence of the championship on the national team

Last year, Promethea volleyball players had better competitive practice thanks to participation in the Czech Extra League. This season, they returned to the Ukrainian championship, which significantly reduced the level of competition. This affected the preparation of the national team, which faced problems during international competitions.

Problems of youth national teams

Similar problems are observed in youth national teams, which are also formed on the basis of "Prometheus". The youth national team (U18) did not make it to the final part of Eurovolley, losing two out of three qualifying matches. The youth national team of Ukraine (U22) reached the finals only based on additional indicators.

Selection of players for the national team

Coach Ivan Petkov called four Prometheus reserves to the national team, which is a third of the total number of players. Although some volleyball players from other clubs, such as Valeriya Yakusheva from "Dobrodia" or Anastasia Hryschuk from the Polish "Lodz", deserve attention, they remain unnoticed.

Conclusions and perspectives

The women's national team of Ukraine has stagnated after two years of progress. The lack of competition and the limited choice of players negatively affected the team's results. It is hoped that the Ukrainian women will be able to qualify for the qualifying tournament of the League of Nations based on the rating, but is the team able to return to their best form in such a short time?

Editor: Emilia Morozova