Team Russia!

I have high hopes for Russia's women volleyball team to do well in the big leagues in the coming years.

Did you see how young their players are? Probably the oldest in the roster currently playing in the 2013 World Volleyball Grand Prix is the 32-year-old setter Anna Matienko. I love the fact that this setter can whack the ball like a real hitter whenever she has the chance.

Anna Matienko

Russia's star player Nataliya Goncharova, whose shirt name is her married surname Obmochaeva, is 24 years old.  This opposite hitter, with a towering height of 194 cm, is the tournament's top scorer as of August 17, 2013. And I'm pretty sure she will continue to be on the top spot when the final round rolls in.

'Goncha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?'

And oh, Goncha is wearing jersey no. 8, the same number that my all-time favorite player Evgenia Artamonova wore at the height of her amateur volleyball career in early 2000s. Goncha has also proven that she's heiress to the throne of Ekaterina Gamova and Liubov Sokolova, two of the most fordibale attackers that Russia has ever produced.

Russia's legendary players (from veengle.com)

All eyes are on Russia's newest volleyball dynamite, Victoria Chaplina. This outside hitter, who is turning 25 in October, made her mark in the 2012 Montreux Volley Masters. She continues to play in top form, bringing in the points when the team needs them the most.

Viktoria Chaplina (from worldofvolley.com)

There's also the realiable Tatiana Kosheleva, who made very few appearances in the 2012 London Olympics due to a shoulder injury. I don't think she's back in her best form, but it looks as though this 24-year-old outside hitter  is on her way to becoming the other go-to girl for the team when game pressure builds. I am seeing a Goncha-Koshe dominance in the near future.

Kosheleva (from vertexvolley.com)

Goncha and Koshe, who's the new queen? (from forosperu.net)

The 22-year-old middle hitter Irina Zaryazhko (height: 196 cm) also shows a lot of promise. It's a good thing that Russia has revamped its plays. Before, Russia would always go for plays for its wing spikers. This time around, Russia's arsenal includes plays for the middle and backrow attackers.

Go Irina! (from sb-community.com)

The only area that the Russian squad has to work on is floor defense. If they master that aspect, then these Russian girls will sure be a force to be reckoned with come the 2016 Rio Games.