RSU/MVS Women's Volleyball Team Wins Bronze at National Championship

On 10 April in Daugavpils, the women's volleyball team of Rīga Stradiņš University / Minusas Volleyball School (RSU/MVS) won 3rd place in the 2020/2021 season Latvian Volleyball Championship. RSU/MVS played the team VC miLATss resulting in a 3 – 1 win (25:11, 23:25, 25:22, 25:21). First place went to SC Babīte.

‘We opened the season on 3 October 2020, but stopped playing already on 26 October due to COVID-19. We trained outdoors individually until December. The Latvian women’s national team candidates had the opportunity to train separately. The team's joint training sessions only resumed on 15 February this year, and the first game took place on 28 February against Daugavpils VC miiLATs,’ said RSU/MVS team coach Inguna Minusa.

In the post-match video interview, RSU/MVS player Annija Jurdža said that the final match was easier than the semi-final game against RVS/UoL. ‘The first game of this series fighting for the bronze medal against VC miLATss was a tough battle, but today we acted as a team and won.’

The team's initial application to the Latvian Volleyball Championship included 16 players, nine of whom were RSU students. The application also included two RSU graduates, two students from other universities and three players still in high school. 14 players closed out the season and won the medal.

When asked about the RSU/MVS team’s next steps Minusa said: ‘This season was the biggest challenge since we returned to the Baltic League after a two-year break (previously played in the National League). We created a new team, but due to COVID-19 we cancelled our participation.

Our challenge for next year still remains – to play and to win medals not only in the Latvian Championship and Latvian Cup, but also in the Baltic League. These are just small steps towards achieving our main goal – to play in the European League.’

The RSU/MVS women's volleyball team won first place in the Latvian Championship in the 2015/2016 season, beating the Jelgava Volleyball Team in the semi-finals.

Like all other RSU athletes, the RSU volleyball team’s players continue to train during this difficult time. Minusa shares an encouraging message: 

‘Let’s be daring and take action, not pause and wait!’