Lima, Peru, June 24, 2019 – Winning the ticket to the 2020 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League is the objective of the coaches and captains of the teams participating in the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup here from June 26 to 30.
Julieta Lazcano, captain of Argentina: “We really like the Volleyball Nations League. It gives a chance to compete at the best level, giving the international exposure needed to improve; our expectation is to qualify.”
Hernán Ferraro, head coach of Argentina: “We have just started a new season with the national team, they are in good condition. The team has been preparing for a long time and Nizetich and Rodriguez have just joined the team because the competition in Europe ended recently. For us going back to the VNL would be great; it is very hard but we welcome as much competition as possible and it is better if it is at this level because we are starting the Olympic qualification.”
Kyla Richey, captain of Canada: “Last year we didn’t make it through the first round, so I am really happy that this season we make it to the Challenger Cup. I think our team is in a really good way and in a good position to reach our goals for this season. Our sights are set on winning the tournament and qualifying to VNL next summer.”
Tom Black, head coach of Canada: “In preparing to be here and for the Olympic qualification tournament, we went to the United States to play two exhibition matches. The objective every time is to play our best and get better, if we do that we might have a shot.”
Chang Lo We, captain of Chinese Taipei: “We are very excited, we are ready and prepared for the Challenger Cup, our goal is to focus on one match at a time and reach the end as winners.”
Koji Tsuzurabara, head coach of Chinese Taipei: “My team is young, it´s a team of the future, but we will play hard. My team is too short but we are a top team in defence and we need to stretch our defence even further.”
Samantha Fabris, captain of Croatia: “We are happy to be here because this is the first time Croatia is in the Challenger Cup and in our pool we know the Czech Republic very well, our performance two days ago against them back home was not at our level, with a lot of ups and downs, so we are anxious to do better.”
Daniele Santarelli, head coach of Croatia: “We are tired because it was such a long trip but we are very happy, we just need a while to adjust. This level of competition is important, I don’t know what chances we have to qualify but after playing our first match against Peru we can understand our level and prepare better.”
Pavla Smidova, captain of the Czech Republic: “We are glad to be here because the qualifier was not so easy, it was tough and now we want to enjoy the tournament and wait and see. We played Croatia in the European Golden League just three days ago; it will definitely be different because we played away.”
Ioannis Athanasopoulos, head coach of the Czech Republic: “We are glad to compete here at the Challenger Cup, we will try to win giving our best in every game and grow as a team. We won the European League and every day we are doing better. It is a wonderful opportunity to compete at this level and see where we are at the moment.”
Karla Ortiz, captain of Peru: “We are proud to host the FIVB Challenger Cup once again, the difference is that this year we will battle stronger to reach the VNL and put Peru back in bigger competitions. We have been preparing since January and the players abroad came in March, they have adjusted well, following our coaches’ instructions.”
Francisco Hervas, head coach of Peru: “Our goal is to consolidate Peru’s position, first in South America and then internationally competing with the best; the only way to improve our game and for our team to grow is competing in these kind of events. I have been here for five months working with different groups of players, we are trying to embark in a new project for the national teams.”
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