The Ireland under 16s Girls Volleyball Team kick off their European Championships Qualifying campaign with two games in the Faroe Islands tomorrow (Friday Jan 4th 2019).
The girls in green will take on tournament favourites Denmark at 10:30am and then the hosts at 15:00. Day 1 will feature pool stage matches, which will determine the schedule for Saturday and Sunday’s encounters.
The tournament programme will provide tough competition against more experienced opposition. None of the Irish team have played internationally before.
Captain Maria Jones (Ennis, Co Clare), said “We’ve been working hard the last few months pretty much every weekend. As well as physical fitness plans and nutrition programmes to best prepare us to give it our best shot. The tournament is about testing ourselves, learning from the experience and to become better Volleyball players.”
A youthful squad of 12 players have made the journey to Torshavn, via flights to Edinburgh and then Vagar. A late arrival to the Faroes means a 10pm training session for the team tonight (Thurs 3rd Jan). Head Coach Gianni Massa added, “The girls have left no stone un-turned in their preparation which event included a late night captain’s run to get rid of the jet lag. They’ve been working very hard over the Christmas break as well with multiple training days. It’s been an honour to coach them.”
The Ireland delegation also includes referee Vinnie Dos Santos who will be developing his officiating skills over the coming days. Like all Irish sports teams the supporters have travelled in numbers. Expect to see plenty of green, white and orange in the stands.
All matches can be viewed via the Faroese Volleyball Association’s Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkaaCl-FzLSdOa-P8cazH-Q/live
Friday 4th Jan Schedule:
10.30am: Ireland v Denmark
3.00pm: Ireland v Faroe Islands
Match reports and revised schedules will be posted asap.
