The Croatian women’s national team has kicked off their training for an action-packed summer season. This year, they eagerly anticipate participating in the esteemed VNL (Volleyball League of Nations) and subsequently the European Championship, events where their ambitions run high.
Competing in the League of Nations, alongside the top 16 global national teams, is seen as both an honor and a source of inspiration for every volleyball player. Lea Deak, the 23-year-old setter of the team, shares this sentiment:
“Even though last year at the Challenger tournament in Zadar we secured this year’s appearance in the League of Nations, it’s still somehow unreal to me. I feel very excited before the performance in the VNL, which is the dream of every player. We hope that with our good games, we will secure a performance in the VNL next year as well. A huge honor was given to us, which we actually won ourselves, and a reward for all those years of hard work.”
And that hard work started in Home of Volleyball in Zagreb (Dom odbojke Zagreb), from Monday, May 8th, under the assistant coach Piotr Matela. Croatian head coach Ferhat Akbas and his team Eczacibasi, as well as national team captain Samanta Fabris, are expecting the CEV Champions League final in Turin on May 20th, a match against fierce rivals from Vakifbank.
“We immediately started strong, so by the end of the week we were already ‘sore’, but that is completely normal for this part of the preparations. We want to give everything from ourselves, to impose one another, because there are still players from a wider list”, says Lea, and adds:
“There is no head coach, due to the final of the Champions League, there is no Samanta either, and due to rehabilitation and injuries, some standard national team players are missing, such as Butigan and Mlinar. As the championships in various countries ended, the girls joined the preparations, so now we are almost complete. We are working well and hard.”
Lea Deak has been playing in Switzerland’s Vollero Zurich since 2020, but starting next season, she will change her team.
“The club has decided to continue on a different path, it will focus on the development of young, domestic players. I’m leaving satisfied, I had a great time in Vollero, and I think I’ve improved a lot, from season to season. This one was not the most successful for us in terms of results, due to some injuries but also our mistakes, so in the end we finished in 6th place. Personally, I am satisfied with my performances, and I think that I came to the preparations of the national team in good shape.”
In her position as setter, there are also Karla Antunović and Lara Štimac, so she will certainly need that good form.
“It is unusual to work with three setters in training, but on the other hand, it is also an additional motivation. In general, I am very satisfied with how these preparations went. I am at home, in Zagreb, that is certainly an advantage, but everything else is also at the best possible level, from hotel accommodation and food, to all the things necessary for training and recovery. It is only up to us to train well and already at the first VNL tournament in Japan, at the end of the month, show that we are fully deserved in the company of the best national teams in the world,” said Lea Deak at the end, setter of the Croatian volleyball team.
