Ningbo, China, May 24, 2018 – China coach Raul Lozano is pleased that his squad will play on home soil against strong squads Argentina, Bulgaria and the United States in the inaugural FIVB Volleyball Nations League from May 25 to 27.
China coach Raul Lozano: “I’m glad China will start the tournament on home soil. We will face the best teams in the world in this tournament. From the first week to the fifth week, we will meet many of the world’s strongest squads, most of which rank in the Top 10. It’s a great opportunity to show our positive side on home soil, so I expect my players to have a great performance.”
On dividing the team into two: “I think the method will improve the whole team because we will have more players that can rotate, which will provide more choices in each formation.”
Argentina coach Julio Velasco: “We are glad to be here to start this new competition. It will be a very difficult competition because we will play three times a week for five weeks. All the teams are very good. We are waiting to start the game tomorrow against the United States. I hope that all the Chinese fans can enjoy the tournament.
“We don’t have all our best players here because some players finished so late in Europe. We are in good condition. We hope to play good volleyball against other teams.”
Bulgaria coach Plamen Konstantinov: “We are glad to be here. Volleyball is popular in China. We hope that we can have nice games. I wan to say good luck to my colleagues and all the players. I hope we can have good results here.”
USA coach John Speraw: “We are excited to play volleyball in China this week. I believe it’s the first time we have been here since 2009. We have a wonderful opportunity in this tournament to play against a number of different countries around the world and play with great volleyball teams. This week we will take on three teams with three different styles. I am glad to see how our team will adapt through this tournament.”