VN Interview: Jessica Lakatos

At the age of 17, Jessica Lakatos made her debut with the first-team.
Now, eight years later, she is part of Gislaveds VK foundation, and on Thursday she and GVK will battle again after four straight losses in the Elitserien.
- If the right pieces fall into place, we are really sharp," she says.

VN meets GVK's libero at the Hotel Nissastigen the same evening they begin decorating for Christmas.

Gislaveds dreary season has taken a toll on Jessica Lakatos, which is not so surprising since she describes herself as the team's most grumpy player.

In a positive way, it should be emphasized.

"I am an extremely bad loser. I really hate losses," she says.

"When it happens, I lock myself in a room at home afterwards and just sit there and think about what went wrong and why. But I sit completely in silence, I'm not one to throw things at the wall to let off steam."

Jessica Lakatos was born in 1990, grew up and still lives in Gislaved where she began her volleyball career at the age of nine.

"I made my first A-team season as a 17-year-old ... I think. It was in any case just after GVK had fallen out Elitserien. But we took ourselves back directly, and since then I have been faithful to the club except for a short detour with Värnamo to play with their Division 1 team. I was a bit hungry for a change of scenery but soon returned home."

"More than once I have thought about how it would be to play in another team, like Katrineholm when they existed and were best, but I thrive in GVK and in town, I have my partner and family. So it feels good to be here."

Through the years, the 25-year-old has developed into a driving force.

"I do not see myself as a leader but one of my strengths is to speed up and push others when things are sluggish on and off the court."

On Thursday night, Lakatos and her teammates meet series runner-up Svedala on their home floor. On Saturday they play against league-leader Hylte / Halmstad, also in Gisle sportcenter.

"It will be tough but we absolutely have the chance to beat them. Against Hylte it is also a bit of a derby."

For that reason, Jessica hopes to have many fans join the spectator area.

"It has been a good crowd so far this season but I hope it continues. Mainly because it's much more fun to play when you know you have a lot of support in the back."

Why should you come? Motivate!
"Because we are playing very well when everything falls into place, and the sport of volleyball offers fast play, it is highly tactical. The game is constantly changing, depending on the match," says Jessica Lakatos with a smile.