Playing on home soil, Croatia claimed their second victory in the EuroVolley 2021 defeating Belarus in straight sets on Saturday at SC Višnjik – Krešimir Cosic Hall in Zadar. The 23-year-old Klara Peric is in charge of playmaking, impressing with her skills and experience earned already in five countries.
Croatia celebrating their second victory in Zadar
After defeating Switzerland in the opening match of Pool C on Thursday, Croatia kept the level high. In their second encounter they beat Belarus in three sets (25-19, 25-23, 25-15), totally dominating in all components. The great strength of the Croatian team is a well-balanced game and the person who stands behind ball distribution is Klara Peric. On Saturday, Samanta Fabris topped the scorers chart with 15 points, being followed by Laura Milos (14) and Matea Ikic (13). Peric, a 23-year-old setter, plays her first senior season and has already gained a huge trust of coach Daniele Santarelli.
“Playing in the starting six means literally everything to me. I’m really happy and excited that I’ve got the opportunity to play with these amazing girls and work with our amazing staff….
… It’s my first senior year and my first senior EuroVolley and I couldn’t be more happier and grateful for the opportunity. It feels amazing to play here even though we don’t have an audience, because we are playing on our home court and in our country. We have been preparing for the EuroVolley since May 6th, and we are literally giving everything we have to show ourselves in the best light.”
Klara Peric
setter of Croatia
Klara Peri? (#6) – a young and promising setter of Croatia
Although Peric is only 23-years-old, she already has a rich resume that includes clubs from as many as five countries. After starting her Volleyball journey in her hometown Vinkovci, she moved to Zagreb to play in HAOK Mladost, then at age 18 she joined Pomì Casalmaggiore, Italy. After one year she went to CV Barcelona, and then she continued her career in Slovenian GEN-I Volley and Finnish LP Vampula, to eventually return in pandemic times to Mladost.
“It was an amazing experience. I have been through many countries and many clubs. I learnt a lot of things and played with amazing players. I think I had an opportunity to really grow and to learn from many different people and different mentalities and that’s why I’m really grateful for that, for my past, how it was and right now I’m 23 but I have a clear goal where I want to go. I want to rise up and enjoy playing Volleyball.”
Klara Peric
setter of Croatia
During her relatively short career she already underwent two shoulder surgeries – the last one two years ago. “I had two shoulder surgeries, since I’ve begun to play professionally at age 18. My body couldn’t catch up with the stress and basically I had a little bit of bad luck, but right now I’m keeping good attention on my body and everything is supposed to go well.”
The role of setter is usually considered as a big responsibility, for Peric is also a way to express her creativeness. “The reason why I love this position is that I’m in contact with the ball every time. I can be creative and I think that’s one of the main characteristics of me as a person, so that’s why I really enjoy playing as a setter.”
Klara Peric arrives to the venue fully focused on her task
She hopes that with her skills and – of course – creative playmaking, she will help her team achieve a significant result at the EuroVolley 2021.
“We definitely want to go as high as we can, to make the best result in the group and later we will see. We want to raise our level game by game and continue winning, that’s our dream.”
Klara Peric
setter of Croatia
