Levinska: Loss to Poland shows Latvia can compete at the top level

Latvia's women's volleyball national team lost 1-3 (19:25, 25:23, 22:25, 24:26) to Poland on Monday in the European Championship (EC) final tournament in Istanbul, marking the team's third defeat of the competition. Despite the loss, team leader Marta Kamēlija Levinska expressed satisfaction with the performance.

A close match against a strong opponent

Quoted by the Latvian Volleyball Federation (LVF), Levinska said the team played solidly against a strong opponent and once again demonstrated its ability to compete at the top level. She noted that every set was very close, with the outcome decided by small details rather than any real gap in quality between the teams. She said the team was just a few fortunate moments away from securing at least one more set, which would have earned a point in the tournament standings.

Levinska added that the team performs best when using a three-attacker front-row setup, which provides a stronger block and better second-line defense and helps generate more points.

Group stage results

Latvia won the opening set against Poland but ultimately lost the match 1-3. Levinska was the team's top scorer with 30 points. Earlier in the tournament, Latvia lost 0-3 to reigning European champions Turkey on Friday and fell 1-3 to Germany on Sunday. In another match on Monday, Turkey defeated Hungary 3-0.

In the Group A standings, Turkey leads with three wins from three matches, followed by Poland with two wins from two matches. Slovenia and Germany both sit at 1-1. Latvia remains without a win after three matches, as does Hungary after two. Latvia will next face Slovenia on Wednesday and Hungary on Thursday. Four of the six Group A teams will advance to the knockout stage.