ACH Volley Ljubljana to 19th national championship title

The third final match of the Sportklub Volleyball League 1 took place at the Tivoli Hall, the third match of the final series in less than a week. As in the previous two meetings, ACH Volley Ljubljana volleyball players won the third match of the final series and are looking forward to their 19th title of national champions.

Ljubljana - Tivoli sports hall, 420 spectators, referees Markelj, Pevc.

ACH Volley Ljubljana : Calcit Volley 3 : 1 (23, -26, 21, 20)

ACH Volley Ljubljana: Mejal, Šket 4, Mašulović, Todorović, Bošnjak, Koncilja 10, Šestan 14, Kovačič (L), Gjorgiev 12, Videčnik 9, Kök 24, Šen.   Coach.

Calcit Volley: Planinšič, Mujanović 23, Vinkovič, Lazar, Košenina (L), Arsenoski, Okroglič 10, Sosa Sierra 23, Mitrašinović, Aponza Carabali 7, Pavlović 7. Coach: Jurij Žavbi

The first set started with Kamnik taking advantage of the worse reception of the Ljubljana team and leading 4:2. The Orange Dragons managed to connect and take the lead (8:6), but it didn't last long. The unstoppable Sosa caused problems for the Ljubljana team in attack and led the Calcit volleyball players to a 12:9 lead. The reaction on the bench of the reigning national champions and a half-minute break at the request of coach Gačič followed. The break was to the advantage of the Slovenian champions, as the Ljubljana team took the lead in the next minutes and just when we thought that at 24:18 the Ljubljana team would be celebrating a convincing victory in the first set, Calcit volleyball players were served perfectly by Aponza, who brought the guests to within a point (24:23). Despite the difficulties in the reception, the home volleyball team managed to take the set and enjoyed the victory in the opening set (25:23).

Similarly to the first set, the Kamnik team led 12:9 in the second set, but the Dragons answered and tied the match at 14. In the second half of the set, Calcit volleyball players regained the lead after a strong hit by Sosa, followed by a timeout at the home team's request. Coach Gačič sent Šket into the game instead of captain Gjorgiev, who with an effective attack ensured the tie at 21 points. In a tense ending of the second set, ACH Volley volleyball players got to the first final ball, but they did not take advantage of the offered opportunity. On the other side, Calcit's players took advantage of their third final ball with a successful block to tie the set (26:28).

The start of the third set belonged to ACH Volley Ljubljana, who took a five-point lead (9:4) on the wings of Šket's excellent serves. Calcit Volley woke up in time and with a solid block tied the score at 14. It was an evenly contested continuation, with the teams tied at 20 before the playoffs. Kök served well to take a two-point advantage (22:20), which was enough to give the Dragons the win in the third set. Videčnik's ace decided the set 2:1. 
As in the third set, the Orange Dragons got off to a great start in the fourth set. Kök once again provided a series of strong initial shots and gave the Ljubljana team a 7:3 lead. This time, they did not let the Calcite players get any closer and continued to dictate the rhythm of the game. Gjorgiev, who came into his own in the second half and was the driving force of the Orange Dragons, made two aces to give the Ljubljana volleyball team an unassailable lead (17:9). Koncilja's two consecutive attacks over the first tempo ensured a calm end to the match. The set ended on the 20th point and the celebration in the Tivoli Hall could begin.

ACH Volley Ljubljana coach Radovan Gačič: "The last match of a long season in which we managed to remain undefeated both in the Central European League and on home soil. Kamnik was able to play relaxed today, but we wanted to win the national championship in front of our home crowd. We did it, and I am extremely proud of the whole team and my colleagues in the professional staff."