Kosheleva: After Parubets' injury, she has realistic chances to be part of the team or even a starter, specially with how she's currently playing in Galatasaray. I have almost written her off so her performance in Turkey is a pleasant surprise. Of course, it won't change things much for Russia but her current form is still better than Shcherban and Kurilo.
Voronkova: I don't know what's going on with her, but her attacking has dropped in the past few years but on a positive note, she has improved in reception so she and Fedorovtseva are ideal as starting as OHs.
Fedorovtseva: Like how many of us has already pointed out a number of times, she's a very promising player and currently performing well in Russian League but we'll have to see how she'll do under more intense pressure at the Olympics. OH options for Russia are very limited at the moment, so regardless if she's inexperienced or not, she's the best choice since the other OHs won't do better than her. Like I said before, Russia has very low chances to earn a medal or even make it to QF so I guess it's best to give Arina playing time to prepare her well for Paris. This, of course, depends largely if Busato will call her in NT. I also got a feeling that a lot of Russia NT followers project a lot of hope and expectation on her. The past 4 years has been the least successful for Russia so I can imagine fans are searching for success and they see a shining beacon of hope in Fedorovtseva. Hope she handles the pressure well
Goncharova: Struggling lately but the starting OPP position is hers, regardless. Hope she can improve her form in Tokyo. It'll most probably be her last hurrah before she finally retires from NT so I hope she can give her best performance ever.
Lazareva: I've watched a number of her games in Korean League. She's powerful but can be quite inconsistent. At this point, she's good as backupp OPP or backup OH. She'll add more firepower to Russia.
Parubets: It's sad how she's been robbed twice of the chance to participate in the olympics. Being excluded at Rio was understandable but this time, it's harder because she has definitely earned her spot.
All in all, Russia is a big question mark. A dark horse at best. I hope Busato can work some magic on the players. I can see he has a positive effect on the girls under his guidance.
Posts by bibetron
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What happens when you get to be a member of the FIVB sport commission?
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Gioli used to do that too when she played as Opp for NT many years ago.
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I think Italy has big chances to earn a medal (finally!) at the olympics next year and getting a gold doesn't sound too far fetched. Specially if Malinov will drastically improve her sets to the Middles. She's been the weakest link in this possibly the strongest Italian lineup ever.
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Pandemic or no pandemic, I've always thought that it should be 14 players. The 12-player-squad was determined when there was no Libero but with the introduction of the Libero into the game, the limit should be increased to 14 to ensure there would be a backup for all positions.
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OPP:
Boskovic - She has been an important factor for Serbia's huge success in the past years. Serbia is lucky they have someone like her who showed amazing performance at such a very young age. She'll continue to be huge for many more yearsGoncharova - Showed her peak performance in 2015 particularly in WGP and she was the best OPP at that time. Although her reign was short, she continued to be among the top 5 Opposites from 2011-2020.
Egonu - An absolute beast and a killer. What I really admire most from her is how she manages to score at clutch moments. (The Vakif-Conegliano semifinal from last year was a testament to this). Although she's miles ahead of Goncha right now, I'd still put Egonu behind her for now because she just started to explode into the scene just two years ago. She and Boskovic will battle it out on the next decade for the Best Opp title and could possibly be even better than Bosko.
Special mention:
Sheilla - Her play at 2012 OG quarterfinals against Russia was her most remarkable moment for me. Brazil would be so different without her.
Gamova - Although this decade sees her decline, her outstanding performance in 2014 at Champions League and Club World Championships shows that she still has it at that time.
OH:
KYK - The player who has it all! Great at spiking, scoring, receiving, defending, and serving! It's a pity she never won an olympic medal. I'm afraid we won't see a player like her in the years to come.
Zhu - Although widely hailed as currently the best player in world and the main reason for China's dominance in the past years, I'd put her behind KYK mainly because she's a limited player compared to Kim who excels at a wide range of skills.
Runners-up:
Kosheleva, Larson, Saori
MB:
Rasic & Thaisa
Runners-up: Fabiana, Poljak, Eda, Furst
Setter:
Ognjenovic - Thanks to her, I got to appreciate how important a good setter is in a team. It's such a pleasure watching her movements on court.
Alisha Glass
Wolosz
Libero:
de Gennaro
Castillo
Fabi -
Really? It’s not like straight men are all super respectful of women either you know.
That's true. Still doesn't justify Ebrar's actions, though.
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I would've thought Ebrar would be more respectful towards women and hold them in high regard since she's attracted to them. It makes no difference I guess. I find that perplexing. I'll probably never understand her psyche.
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Predictable ending. A block on Vargas. Congrats Conegliano!
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any link for Ecv Dinamo other than the one from retrobet?
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Yes, but Janko means on group D with Eczacibasi, Kaliningrad, Dinamo Moscow and Stutgart.
I see. I haven't kept track with the team pools anymore
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I have one question, how is it possible that youtube won't cover ANY of the 3 matches by the most famous and strongest team in group D? That cannot possibly be a coincidence, surely?
Isn't the Conegliano vs Fenerbache match going to be streamed live later today?
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thank you theloneracer for your efforts in coming up with these updates and stats
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Imoudu reminds me of Kathy Radzuweit. For a second there, I thought it was her!
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yes but she can't play in NT,only in clus as italian
I hope she make a carreer in A2,I saw scandicci and casal want her for next season but she will stuck in hrr career if he go to A1 to be bench
Why can't she play for Italy? Maybe she can play for Russia? She could be needed there.
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With all respect to Kosheleva, she is doing good for her standards but now for a regular OH. She is just OK at best and meanwhile her attacking is mostly below %40. So I don't think she will be much of a use
I think the same. Might not be enough to make Russia win a medal. But I think she's good enough as backup.
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And IMO it is completely fine to be worse than Egonu and Boskovic, even for Vakifbank opp.
Specially when Maja can involve everyone in attack.
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One of those very rare and precious moments when Kosheleva turns to a Defensive OH. What has the coach done to her?
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I thought block parties are forbidden during the pandemic
Zehra begs to disagree
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Cagla's sets...
It just rids Gala of a chance for a counter-attack. It's a shame because the team has been defending well.