The British team recovered after trailing 15-21 in the opening to win 3-1.

 

But a 3-1 defeat in their final match against Israel left them bottom of their group in the first qualifying round.

 

Lorne Sawula, the coach, was nevertheless pleased with the team's first victory, especially after they had lost 3-2 to Portugal in their opening match.

She said: “The most pleasing thing for me was the mental toughness my team showed.

 

"You can see this team is still on a learning curve but they are reaping the benefit of the training and effort they have put in. It was a real team effort today and I now have some strength on the bench I can also turn to.

 

"I thought my setter Lucy Wicks had her best game for a while.

 

"She ran the speed of the offence well.

 

"We are not a power team and we knew Montenegro is a good blocking team, so the role of the setter was very important.”

Even Ksenija Ivanovic, Montenegro's star player, was pleased for Britain.

 

She said: “Congratulations to Great Britain for the win.

 

"It was an excellent match and, as a young side, we feel satisfied with our performance.

 

"We did not perform in our opening match against Israel and this was much better and we can take a lot from this match.

 

"We knew we had nothing to lose coming into this match and there is a lot of promise for such a young team.”

 

The men's team raised their game to trouble Belarus in their final match but lost out 3-1 as their opponents took the one qualifying place.

 

Britain had lost their opening match 3-1 against Israel.