Parkhomenko sisters bid farewell to Azerbaijan’s national team

Baku, Azerbaijan, October 8, 2014.  Azerbaijan’s Parkhomenko sisters have announced the end of their national team careers following the squad’s participation in the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Italy 2014.  Yelena and Oksana will continue to play volleyball only at the club level.

This means that Azerbaijan’s participation in the third qualification round for the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Women will have to go without the two experienced players.  In late May the team is due to face Slovakia in home-and-away matches for a spot in the Final Round in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The 30-year-old setter Oksana Parkomenko, also known as Kurt by marriage, has been part of the Azerbaijani national team since 1998 and since 2006 she has been the squad’s captain.  In her club career, she has played for teams from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Switzerland and Russia and has won national trophies from domestic competitions in all these countries.  Oksana triumphed with CEV’s Top Teams Cup with Azerrail BAKU back in 2002.  Currently she plays for Azeryol BAKU, which will compete in the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Women.

Her sister Yelena Parkhomenko is a 32-year-old middle blocker, who started her career with the national team in 2003.  On club level, since 1999 she has played for teams from Azerbaijan and Italy.  Along with Oksana, Yelena was part of the Azerrail team that won the 2002 Top Teams Cup.  With the same club, she won four champion’s titles in Azerbaijan from 2002 through 2005.  The 185-cm-tall volleyballer also won the 2012 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Women with Lokomotiv BAKU.  Currently she is on Igtisadchi BAKU’s roster and is expected to take part in the upcoming 2015 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women.