Imo, Startseva has passed her prime and there are several setters can be better, for example,Dmitrieva, Filishtinskaia, and Smelenko (all three might have height concerns)
Koroleva is another case, she has also passed her prime, there are better MBs I think, for example Pushina, Kochurina.
Koroleva still has "that something" but Brovkina could give a lot and Suvorova in the future
I think you can forget about players older than 30. They didn't win anything in last 5 years and obviously Russia will not play before 2024, so they will play just younger ones and try to make them work.
I swear, Serdar have some fetish on receiving opp-s
Well for teams with weak receiver OHs, they are the best solution. There are not many of them around anyways. Ksenia is one of the rare players who can hit well from zone 2. Most of the receiving opps don't attack much but Ksenia can be very scorer as she proved in many matches with Uralochka.😍
I agree that Russia should focus younger middles and setters since the goal will be Paris 2024 most likely, even if they could play ECh 2023
What you can say about this Matveeva, too slow, too low, too bad, but never got sub'd
What you can say about this Matveeva, too slow, too low, too bad, but never got sub'd
Not sure why Kobzar is not being giving chances, or is she even on the roster?!
Re older players, sorry but Goncharova is still Russia's current best Opp (but we all know her best days are behind her). If only Lazareva were more consistent.. Akimova no doubt is the future and maybe even Popova.
Not sure why Kobzar is not being giving chances, or is she even on the roster?!
Kobzar and Akimova injured
Where we can see standings before last match in group stage?
Kazan x Moscow
Moscow won against Kazan 3-1 but Kazan already qualified in advance for the Finals. Match for Gold will be tomorrow between the same teams, kinda boring if you ask me.
Ft Sirius finished 3rd in Spartakiad, Congrats!!
Overall, the team is doing good, when the games progressed the team got better. I felt pretty bad for #3, #5, and #21, they barely had any chance to be on court. Bad Terzic!
After this, Russia might put up a list for the "national" team (for the coming friendly's) , and I would guess this list will be mainly from these eight teams. One spot I am not sure is the setter, Matveeva is good as a local team but not good enough to handle the tough international competitions. Startseva has been disappointing, Romarova has been good, and the setters from Tula, Proton, and Loko are all pretty good.
Goncharova looks like still the one Russia has now. It is a pity that Akimova did not have a chance to demonstrate her ability due to injury.
Outside, Parubets did not stand out as a attacker although her defense has been decent.
Middle, there are some good middles to choose from, the young ones I like are Kochurina, Zhabrova, and Pushina.
Libero, Bayandina looked pretty good.
If I were the one to pick this team, it would be hard to pick the setters. Anyway, here is my #1 list (you can laugh or you can jump, whatever you feel appropriate to respond
Setters: Romarova, Popova
Opp: Gocharova, Akimove (or Lukianova)
OH: Fedorovtseva, Voronkova, Parubets, Kapustina
MB: Fetisova, Kochurina, Pushina, Brovkina
L: Podkopaeva, Bayandina
Display MoreFt Sirius finished 3rd in Spartakiad, Congrats!!
Overall, the team is doing good, when the games progressed the team got better. I felt pretty bad for #3, #5, and #21, they barely had any chance to be on court. Bad Terzic!
After this, Russia might put up a list for the "national" team (for the coming friendly's) , and I would guess this list will be mainly from these eight teams. One spot I am not sure is the setter, Matveeva is good as a local team but not good enough to handle the tough international competitions. Startseva has been disappointing, Romarova has been good, and the setters from Tula, Proton, and Loko are all pretty good.
Goncharova looks like still the one Russia has now. It is a pity that Akimova did not have a chance to demonstrate her ability due to injury.
Outside, Parubets did not stand out as a attacker although her defense has been decent.
Middle, there are some good middles to choose from, the young ones I like are Kochurina, Zhabrova, and Pushina.
Libero, Bayandina looked pretty good.
If I were the one to pick this team, it would be hard to pick the setters. Anyway, here is my #1 list (you can laugh or you can jump, whatever you feel appropriate to respond
Setters: Romarova, Popova
Opp: Gocharova, Akimove (or Lukianova)
OH: Fedorovtseva, Voronkova, Parubets, Kapustina
MB: Fetisova, Kochurina, Pushina, Brovkina
L: Podkopaeva, Bayandina
Agree with most things. Setter has been a long time issue for Russia, and it looks like it'll keep being. Especially because Kobzar is still inexperienced and didn't have a chance to play in this tournament.
With the current available players, I keep thinking Arina + Parubets + Voronkova would be a nice group of outsiders together, cause Goncha is clearly past her prime. Plus, they'd help in reception line and changing if needed. To finish, I'd add Lazarenko too. I wish she has chances to play. Maybe Gorbunova can be useful coming from the bench.
I watched some parts from some matches, and my impression is that Startseva still is the best setter for Russia, which is kinda sad. Matveeva showed some decent potential, but Romanova is simply messy and I'm not impressed with Popova either.
Lukyanova benefits from her height, but technically and athletically she's way too raw.
Watching the final makes me wonder how Kazan got there 
The fake NT and also Lokomotiv made a better impression on me, but then I didn't watch all that much of the tournament...
Just finished watching the final, yes Startseva did well today!
This was Terzic said after the final game:
- Yes, we will give a couple of days of rest and start collecting. We will collect almost all the best, while there will be new players. There are many good volleyball players in Russia, I need to create a strong team for the future. I'm sure everything will be fine. We hope that during the camp we will be able to hold friendly matches.
Q: Will all the leaders of the team be called to the training camp?,
A: Of course, we will call some of the leaders, but not much. I worked in Russia for four years, many experienced players who are in their 30s, I know well, I have worked with them. I don't learn anything new about them. I need to get to know the players that I have not seen before and with whom I have not worked.
If so, I do not think Goncharova, Startseva, Kolerova, or even Malova will be called to this new national team. Lots of new players will emerge.
The current Russian women national team, many new promising players.
Binders
Burkova Victoria (2001, Uralochka-NTMK, Sverdlovsk Region)
Matveeva Polina (2002, Zarechye-Odintsovo, Moscow region)
Romanova Tatyana (1994, Dynamo, Moscow)
Diagonal
Lazareva Anna (1997, Fenerbahce, Istanbul, Turkey)
Popova Alina (2005, Severyanka, Cherepovets)
Blockers
Brovkina Julia (2001, Lokomotiv, Kaliningrad region)
Kochurina Elizaveta (2002, Volero, Le Cannet, France)
Lazarenko Angelina (1998, Dynamo-Ak Bars, Kazan)
Pushina Victoria (2000, Proton, Saratov)
Suvorova Natalia (2004, Dynamo-Ak Bars)
Finishers
Voronkova Irina (1995, Exachibashi, Istanbul, Turkey)
Gatina Svetlana (2003, Proton)
Zamanskaya Daria (2004, Dynamo-Ak Bars)
Kadochkina Tatyana (2003, Lokomotiv Klngr)
Parubets Xenia (1994, Lokomotiv Klngr)
Pipunyrova Ekaterina (2000, Dynamo M)
Fedorovtseva Arina (2004, Fenerbahce, Turkey)
Libero
Bibina Maria (1994, Dynamo M)
Frolova Olga (1996, Proton)
Shepeleva Varvara (2001, Dynamo, Krasnodar)
Interesting lineup. Very young. Almost a full overhaul of NT. No Goncharova, Fetisova, Startseva, Koroleva, and even Malova. I wished they could have included Malova or Goncha at least. Lazareva is still too average to be a threat at international level. But I'm liking the choices mostly.
Interesting lineup. Very young. Almost a full overhaul of NT. No Goncharova, Fetisova, Startseva, Koroleva, and even Malova. I wished they could have included Malova or Goncha at least. Lazareva is still too average to be a threat at international level. But I'm liking the choices mostly.
Oldest ones are 1994 (28y old), as i said before they will not call players older than 30. They making team for Paris and after Paris.
Also Goncha is serious decline, she is not better than Boz now.
This is a good time to change and Russia has a lot of interesting players, I don't know if they will be ready for Paris, but for the 2026 World Cup, yes
Russia has great MB prospects, although Fetisova and koroleva were a great duo, I don't think newcomers will be worse than these two in Paris. Outside also seems to be solid with Voronkova, Ksenia, Arina and Kadochkina. Opp is a question mark, that's why I think they should play with 3 outsides to compensate reception & defense.
Their biggest struggle will be setters. Not that startseva was a great setter, but she was the best one in recent years after Shesheninna (I probably tortured her name🙈)
Also I would have kept Malova, she is one of the best libero in the world and a good libero can play till 35+ easily so I think she could make it to Paris
