Slovenia's Women's U23s in Ljubljana ahead of the World Championship from September 10 to 17
Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 4, 2017 - Slovenia's Women's U23s are putting the final touches to their preparations for the FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship to be held in Ljubljana from 10 to 17 September.
Italian coach Alessandro Chiappini gathered his team on Wednesday, just two days after the senior national team's return from Rotterdam in the Netherlands where they participated in a European qualification tournament for the FIVB Volleyball World Championships in 2018.
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Although the young Slovenian side were not able to earn a place at the final tournament in Japan, the qualifier was a great opportunity to gain experience and play against high-level opposition like the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Belgium.
"The tournament in Rotterdam is already the past, but the matches against strong opponents were the best possible preparation for the Women's U23 World Championship," said Slovenian receiver Anita Sobocan. "Although we didn't have much time to rest, I feel we are in good shape and highly motivated. We have trained really well and are excited about the championship starting in a few days."
The Slovenian team are currently training at the Arena Stožice in Ljubljana, which is the main venue for the championship, and where the team will take on Brazil and Turkey ahead of the first match of the tournament on Sunday.
"We are already focusing on these three matches, two against Brazil and one against Turkey. For now, everything is great. I think we are doing a great job in training and I really hope we will be in good shape on Sunday," said Slovenia captain Eva Mori.
The Slovenian team pose in the old town of LjubljanaWhen the World Championship begins, Slovenia will first take on Argentina and then play against the Dominican Republic, China, Thailand and Egypt in Pool A. Pool B is composed of Brazil, Cuba, Kenya, Japan, Bulgaria and Turkey.