Raul Lozano guided the Ukrainian men's volleyball team to a convincing victory over hosts Qatar in their first of three planned friendly matches. The national team defeated their opponents 3:1 (27:25, 26:24, 20:25, 25:18) in Doha on September 4th as part of their preparation for the upcoming World Championship.
"This tournament provides excellent preparation opportunities before the World Championship begins," – according to Ukrainian Volleyball Federation President Mykhailo Melnyk, who revealed that Lozano personally insisted on participating in the Qatar tournament.
Maksym Drozd made his long-awaited return to the court after an extended injury layoff, contributing 4 points to the Ukrainian victory. Yanchiuk led the scoring for Ukraine with an impressive 19 points, while Tupchii added 9 and Kisiliuk contributed 8 points to the winning effort.
The match statistics showed a balanced performance from both teams, with Ukraine slightly edging Qatar in blocks (11:9) while the hosts registered one more ace serve (9:8).
Interestingly, this friendly tournament comes just days before the World Championship kicks off on September 13th. Will these preparation matches in Qatar provide the competitive edge Ukraine needs for the global tournament?
Coach Lozano utilized his full roster in the match, with the starting lineup featuring Shchytkov, Yanchiuk, Drozd, Tupchii, Kisiliuk, Y. Semeniuk, and libero O. Boiko, while Synytsia, Uryvkin, Poluian, O. Koval, Todua, and libero Pampushko all contributed from the bench.
