Ukraine`s U22 women`s volleyball team has successfully qualified for the #EuroVolleyU22W Final Round after achieving a perfect record of two victories in their qualification matches held in Daugavpils.
In their final qualifying encounter on Sunday at the Daugavpils Olympic Centre, Ukraine defeated the home team, Latvia, with a score of 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 22-25, 25-16). This result, combined with their earlier win against Denmark, secured Ukraine`s spot in next year`s Final Round, which will be hosted in the Netherlands.
The match against Latvia saw the home side gain an early advantage, scoring the first two points courtesy of an ace by Karmena Struka. However, Ukraine quickly responded with three consecutive points, taking the lead. They extended their lead significantly to 16-10 after an unreturnable serve from Andriana Pavlyk and maintained the cushion up to 22-16. Latvia mounted a comeback, leveling the score at 22-22 with effective serving from Karmena Struka and successful attacks by Katrīna Struka. Despite the rally, Ukraine won the crucial final points to take the first set 25-22.
In the second set, Ukraine established an early lead, extending it to 18-9 following an attack by Kira Lisova. Latvia again managed to narrow the gap, coming within two points at 18-20 after an ace by Anna Cepurīte. However, Ukraine held firm, winning the set 25-19 after a Latvian error.
Having already secured qualification, Ukraine made three substitutions in the third set. For Latvia, Katrīna Struka moved to the opposite position, replaced by Šarlote Šlitere as outside hitter. Ukraine initially led 10-6 after a Latvian attack error, but the home team responded with a strong 4-0 run, gaining a 17-15 lead driven by two aces from setter Arina Sosinoviča. Latvia capitalized on a miscommunication from Ukraine to win the set 25-22.
The fourth set began with Cepurīte replacing Rūta Putene for Latvia. Latvia took a 2-0 lead after a powerful serve from Karmena Struka. Nevertheless, Ukraine decisively ended the match with a commanding 7-0 run, taking an 11-5 lead following an attack error by Cepurīte. Polina Herasymchuk scored the final point, sealing the set 25-16 and the match victory.
Latvia`s top performer was Katrīna Struka, who scored 17 points, including three blocks and a high attacking efficiency of 56%. Karmena Struka contributed 10 points, including three aces, while Marta Gintere added 9 points.
For Ukraine, Diana Kryva led with 17 points, supported by Andriana Pavlyk with 14 points. Polina Herasymchuk contributed 12 points, with a third of them coming from blocks.
Commenting on the performance, Latvia U22 head coach Inguna Minusa said, “What we saw on the court was the type of Volleyball all women’s teams strive for. Overall, it was a very valuable tournament. We didn’t qualify for the final round, but the experience gained in the matches against Denmark and Ukraine is invaluable. The fight against Denmark proved that everyone can play now, everyone wants to win, and we can no longer afford to play carelessly or underestimate any team. The match against Ukraine was already a different game, as we had learned from the first one.”
Katrīna Struka added, “It was a good match, and Ukraine definitely played very well, but I think we also had chances to win. Unfortunately, a few silly mistakes allowed us to win only one set. Ukraine won the first set thanks to their strong starting lineup, which played excellently. When they began making substitutions, their game didn’t flow as well, and that’s why we could take the third set.” She also mentioned, “I hadn’t trained much with the team, having only had a few practices in Daugavpils, but I think we worked together well and supported each other. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out this time.”
Earlier in the tournament on Saturday, Ukraine secured their path to the final round with a dominant 3-0 victory over Denmark (25-12, 25-23, 25-12). Andriana Pavlyk was a key player in that match, scoring 21 points, including a third from serves, while Diana Kryva contributed 16 points. Veronika Kjaer Sørensen was Denmark`s top scorer with 9 points.
With six points from their two wins, Ukraine topped the group and qualified for the final tournament. Denmark finished with two points, and Latvia with one.
Ukraine’s head coach Gariy Yegiazarov commented on their performance: “The two opening sets were the most important for us, because after those we had already secured first place in the group. After that, three substitutes took to the court, and I’m very pleased that we managed to win with them on the court as well. That’s also important for the players. Our biggest problems were caused by the Struka sisters, who are members of Latvia’s senior national team. They have more experience than the other U22 players and are among the leaders of the senior squad. I think Latvia’s U22 team is stronger than their Danish peers, but on Friday Denmark played really well – even better than they usually do.”
