ACH Volley Ljubljana with 10th consecutive win of the season

The 6th round match of the Sportklub First Volleyball League was played between ACH Volley Ljubljana and Merkur Maribor at the Tivoli Sports Hall. In a not very attractive match, the Dragons justified their role as favourites and recorded another victory.

Ljubljana - Tivoli sports hall, spectators: 50, referees: Markelj, Klinar.

ACH Volley Ljubljana : OK Merkur Maribor 3:0 (22, 21, 15).

ACH Volley Ljubljana: Mejal, Šket 11, Mašulović, Todorović, Bošnjak, Koncilja 4, Šestan 15, Kovačič (L), Gjorgiev 18, Videčnik 7, Kök, Šen.   Coach: Radovan Gacic.

OK Merkur Maribor: Jevšnik (L), Vodušek, Pernuš 1, Adžović 6, McConnel 3, Bračko 5, Kumer (L), Kržič 8, Donik 9, Leva, Fink 6, Najdič, Iršič, Peruničić.   Coach: Sebastjan Škorc.

The start of the match was even, but the current national champions from Ljubljana had a small lead. The Maribor team continued to play well on offense and took a three-point lead (7:10). Despite the deficit, the Dragons persisted and caught up with the Maribor team at the 15th point. In the second half of the opening set, the Ljubljana team rallied and took the lead. The experienced Gjorgiev, with an efficient attack, first secured the first final ball, which he captain-style used himself to win the opening set for the Orange Dragons (25:22).

The second set was also evenly matched at the start, but this time it was the ACH Volley Ljubljana volleyball players who gained their first significant advantage after a block by Šestan (8:5). The Dragons stepped up the pace of the game and at the score of 13:9, a timeout was called at the request of the visitors' coach Škorc. This worked to the advantage of the young Maribor team, who came close to being only a point behind. This triggered a reaction, this time on the home team's side, and a half-minute break at the request of Gačič (14:13). In the end of the second set, the ACH Volley Ljubljana volleyball team showed a better game and after an excellent defensive action by Kovačič and a finish by Gjorgiev, they won this time too (25:21).

In the third set, we saw players on both sides of the attack who were in high spirits and didn't make too many mistakes. On the Styrian side, captain Donik was the most playful, while the Orange Dragons had Šestan and Gjorgiev. Two Bistrians in the Dragons' team, Šket and Videčnik, made sure to increase the advantage to five points (16:11) with blocks. Even a timeout at the request of the Maribor players did not change the situation on the court, as the Ljubljana volleyballers were on their way to another success. The sixth consecutive victory in the Sportklub Volleyball League was secured by the most valuable player of the match, the Orange captain Nikola Gjorgiev (25:15).

Statement of ACH Volley Ljubljana coach Radovan Gačič: "We knew that the Maribor team was improving its form from game to game and that they had nothing to lose in Ljubljana. They proved that with good play in the first two sets. I am happy that we proved our quality in the key moments of the match and recorded another victory in the championship."