Early on Tuesday morning, Lithuanian champions Monika Paulikienė and Ainė Raupelytė started a long journey towards Mexico - here the Lithuanians will participate in the World Beach Volleyball Championship on October 6-15.
The second couple in the history of Lithuania will try to win historic victories in the world championships, because in 2013 M. Paulikiene and Ieva Dumbauskaita remained without victories in the world championship.
"The excitement is the same as when going to any tournament, but it is much more important to go to the competition with a "clear" head, good thoughts and a good mood," said M. Paulikienė.
M. Paulikienė was happy that the excellent weather in Lithuania made it possible to properly prepare for the planet's championships. The national champions held their last training session on Monday at the field near White bridge, where he trained throughout September. Their preparation partners on the last day before the trip were I. Dumbauskaitė and Skalvė Križanauskaitė.
"Actually, the weather in Lithuania in September was very grateful to us, because there was no shortage of warm and beautiful days. During the last period, we also participated in two tournaments of the "Elite16" series. Although we were not very lucky there, such defeats harden us and force us to try even harder and correct our mistakes. We worked hard on defense and blocking, which are our strengths. There are things that still hinder us in the competition, even though we are playing against strong teams," M. Paulikienė shared her thoughts.
Lithuanian beach volleyball players, who took a record fifth place in the European Championship, will play in Group B in Mexico together with Americans Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, who are ranked third in the world, Brazilians Andressa Cavalcanti and Vitoria Rodriguez, who are in 14th position, and Japanese women who are ranked in 34th place, Akiko Hasegawa and Yurika Sakaguchi. .
Our team is 31st in the world ranking.
"We know our opponents, we have played against them, so we know what to expect. Analyzing your opponents is important, but it is even more important to play well yourself, make as few mistakes as possible. Then the game becomes good, no matter what the opponent is", emphasized A. Raupelytė.
On October 7, the Lithuanians will play against the Brazilian women, on October 8 - against the American women, and on October 9 - against the Japanese women.
Volleyball coach Paulius Matulis is satisfied with the season of his students and has no doubt that they will show a quality game in Mexico.
"This season, the girls were happy with good results, so confidence in their own strength increased. There was an even greater motivation to work and do sports. It is difficult to say how things will go in Mexico, but I am satisfied with the work of the volleyball players", said P. Matulis.
In the first round of the World Beach Volleyball Championship, the teams are divided into 12 groups of four teams each. In the group, all pairs will play against each other. The two strongest teams in each group and the four best third-placed teams will directly enter the playoffs. The remaining eight third-placed teams will compete for the remaining four places in the round of XNUMX in the extra round.
"I don't want to put pressure on myself or Aina and create expectations that I would have to live through. You need to drive, play, give yourself 100%. If we do that, we will bring Lithuania a very good result", M. Paulikienė smiled.
P. Matulis spoke in a similar way: "Just like before the European Championship, here too you need to not plan and count victories. The most important thing is that we fight and give our all in every match. We will go step by step and see how we do."
