2024-03-31 03:18:55
Kaunas won the first match of the final 3-1 on Friday, so they were one step closer to the championship title. However, in the return match on Saturday, volleyball fans were given a drama of rare beauty, in which Jonavas “Aušrinė-JSC” defeated Kauno-VDU club 3-2 (25:21, 25:19, 23:25, 23:25, 15:12) and tied the series.
Energetic and supported by a lot of fans, the girls from Jonavis won both the first and the second sets quite confidently. However, it was not possible to finish the job in the simplest way – at the end of both the third and fourth sets, the girls from Kaunas played more accurately and equalized the result. Finally, in the fifth set, “Aušrinė-JSC” grasped at straws and snatched the victory in the second match.
For the Jonava team, Jekaterina Kovalskaja and Danielė Kvedaraitė scored 19 points each, Greta Mikoliūnaitė 15, and Iryna Yakutavičienė 11. In the Kaunas team, Martyna Paukštytė scored 17 points, Gvanca Ulumbelavili and Eglė Makauskaitė scored 15 each, and Gabija Kasperavičiūtė scored 12 points.
The equal result of the series meant that the Lithuanian champions decided in the immediately following golden set. In this set, 15:7, the Kauno-VDU volleyball players proved their superiority, having regained the title of champions after a year’s break.
It was “Aušrinė-JSC” that broke the dominance of Kaunas last year and became the national champion after an eight-year break.
“It was a tough match, which the spectators should have liked. The most important match was yesterday, and today “Aušrinė-JSC” started the match in a very good mood. We made a lot of mistakes and had problems. I am glad that we managed not to break down and we preserved the victory in the golden set. In the regular season, the game was different, because in the final, more emotions and stress contribute, so the forces are evened out. I’m glad that our team showed character at the end”, said Kauno-VDU coach Michailo Kovalenko.
Jonava’s team, for whom this season was really difficult in both the Lithuanian and Baltic championships, is happy with the fight shown on the decisive day of the finals.
“This season, we lost all the matches to Kaunas, and today we fought from the beginning to the end. It’s a pity that luck escaped us in the golden set. Indeed, today we had the goal of winning both the match and the golden set”, admitted the coach of “Aušrinės-JSC” Raimonda Strelkauskaitė.
Bronze medals were won by the Lithuanian U20 girls’ national team. This team beat Vilnius University (VU) for the second time on Saturday 3-0 (25:12, 25:18, 25:22).
Anastasija Jesipenko scored 13 points for the winners, Arina Petuchova scored 10. Austėja Basevičiūtė stood out in the ranks of VU (8 points).
The Lithuanian youth national team coached by Jolita Kontvainienė is preparing for the second round of the European Championship selection tournament, which will be held in the Kaunas sports hall in a week – on April 5-7.
“Since the medals have been won, I consider the performance at the championship good. The girls played especially well today. But remembering the semi-final, we wanted more, but now you have to be happy with the little things. The Lithuanian Women’s Championship gave us great lessons and experience in preparing for the selection of the European Championship”, said J. Kontvainienė.
VU coach Gražvilė Gatelienė said that medals are always desired, but fourth place is a good enough result for a team made up of students.
Eglė Makauskaitė, a member of Kauno-VDU, was recognized as the best player in the finals of the “Teida” Lithuanian Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Karolina Pravdinskaitė (Kaunas-VDU), Gabija Kasperavičiūtė (Kaunas-VDU), Jekaterina Kovalskaja (Aušrinė-JSC), Danielė Kvedaraitė (Aušrinė-JSC), Emilija Mukaitė ( U20 national team), Anastasija Jesipenko (U20 national team) and Karina Najmovič (Kaunas-VDU).
2024-03-31 03:18:55