Julieta Lazcano believes Argentina will do better at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

Argentinian women's volleyball player Julieta Lazcano has said that her team will be able to perform better at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after they finished ninth when making their Olympic debut at Rio 2016.

She believes the experience of the team going forward will be an important factor and that their work over the past decade will pay off.

Lazcano competed at the 2014 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Championships and the 2015 FIVB World Cup, regarded as the period where the nation saw an upturn in fortunes in women's volleyball.

She is due to turn 32 during the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which have been postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was our first time at the Olympics [Rio 2016] and we were all very excited about that experience," she said to Somos Voley.

"I remember that when we were entering the court for our first match the arena was completely dark and we were walking in with the sound of a heartbeat. 

"It was like I was floating, I couldn't feel my legs. 






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"I had never felt that way and with these memories in mind I can totally understand why it was so hard for us to control our emotions and play at the level we could."

In Rio, Argentina only won one of their five matches, defeating Cameroon in a five-set thriller.

At the FIVB World Cup in 2015 they finished eighth.

With the experience of the past four years, Lazcano is confident that nerves will not be an issue in 2021.

She added: "Of course we wanted to have performed better in Rio, but we grew as a team and as athletes with that experience and that was the most important thing.

"I've heard from several athletes that in your first Olympics you just care about experiencing it and that the second time is when you can really perform, I hope that's the case with us. 

"It's a very unique tournament from an emotional standpoint and I'm sure we'll know how to handle it better in Tokyo.

"I hope we can surprise a lot of people because I'm sure we have the potential to do so.

"The younger players who joined our team after the Rio Olympics improved our level as a team and also brought a new energy level to us. 

"The way I see it we can challenge any team in the world right now."

Having qualified for Tokyo in January through the South American Qualifier, Argentina will compete against China, Italy, Russia, the United States and Turkey in the group phase.