Belarus star defender Sviatlana Volnaya enters the 2009 EuroBasket Women questioning just how positive her impact will be on the 2007 bronze medallists.

Volnaya voiced the concerns after practice Saturday as the 30-year-old prepares to return to competitive play for the first time since before the 2008 Olympics after a long-term injury. She did not play the entire 2008-09 season.

When asked how confident she was going into the tournament, Volnaya said: "The most important thing right now I think is to not make mistakes. I'm a little afraid that I haven't been playing for a whole year. So I don't want to mess it up for this team. So my confidence is back but I really, really don't want to make any mistakes, especially since I'm in a starting position."

Belarus will need to have an in-form Volnaya if they hope to repeat their surprising third-place showing in Italy two summers ago.

The former EuroLeague Women All-Star said Belarus is ready to show their stuff once again.

"For us right now, we came here to repeat what we did two years ago. We want the same thing. We will try our best. But we came here to be in the top five," said Volnaya.

But the forward said the team must watch out with their ball-handling, saying they turned over the ball too often in the preparation tournaments in Poland and Turkey.

"For us, if we bring those turnovers down, we can do so much better. For us, winning games will depend on how many turnovers we make," she said.

Belarus start their Group D action on Sunday against Israel.

Belarus star defender Sviatlana Volnaya enters the 2009 EuroBasket Women questioning just how positive her impact will be on the 2007 bronze medallists.

Volnaya voiced the concerns after practice Saturday as the 30-year-old prepares to return to competitive play for the first time since before the 2008 Olympics after a long-term injury. She did not play the entire 2008-09 season.

When asked how confident she was going into the tournament, Volnaya said: "The most important thing right now I think is to not make mistakes. I'm a little afraid that I haven't been playing for a whole year. So I don't want to mess it up for this team. So my confidence is back but I really, really don't want to make any mistakes, especially since I'm in a starting position."

Belarus will need to have an in-form Volnaya if they hope to repeat their surprising third-place showing in Italy two summers ago.

The former EuroLeague Women All-Star said Belarus is ready to show their stuff once again.

"For us right now, we came here to repeat what we did two years ago. We want the same thing. We will try our best. But we came here to be in the top five," said Volnaya.

But the forward said the team must watch out with their ball-handling, saying they turned over the ball too often in the preparation tournaments in Poland and Turkey.

"For us, if we bring those turnovers down, we can do so much better. For us, winning games will depend on how many turnovers we make," she said.

Belarus start their Group D action on Sunday against Israel.