Levinska scores 32 as Latvia fall in five sets to Euro co-hosts Azerbaijan in friendly

Latvia's women's national volleyball team suffered a five-set defeat to hosts Azerbaijan on Friday in the first of two friendly matches in Baku, losing 2:3. The set scores were 25:21, 25:27, 20:25, 25:18 and 18:20, according to information from the Latvian Volleyball Federation and LETA.

Marta Levinska was Latvia's top scorer with 32 points, including two points each from serves and blocks, while converting 28 of her 55 attacks. Paula Ņečiporuka added 17 points, three of them from blocks, Annija Jurdža scored 15 points, and Karmena Struka contributed 12 points, seven of which came from blocks.

For Azerbaijan, Jeļizaveta Rubana led the scoring with 26 points. Poļina Rahimova added 20 points, three from blocks and serves, while Marija Kiriļuka and Margarita Stepaņenko each scored 14 points, with six and three of those coming from blocks respectively.

Upcoming schedule

The two teams will face off again on Saturday at 16:00 Latvian time. Later in August, on the 16th and 17th, Latvia will play Croatia in Riga. The team will then travel to Istanbul for the European Championship group stage starting August 21, where they will face Turkey, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Hungary, with the top four teams advancing to the round of 16.

The European Championship will run from August 21 to September 6 across Azerbaijan, Czechia, Turkey and Sweden, with the play-off rounds held in Istanbul.