ACH Volley Ljubljana Ahead of the Match of the Season

Thursday marks the D-Day of the season for ACH Volley Ljubljana. At 8:00 p.m. in Tivoli Hall, the Slovenian champions will face Dinamo Bucharest, the reigning Romanian champions, in the second leg of the 2nd qualifying round for the CEV Champions League. The Romanians won the first match at home last Tuesday, somewhat surprisingly, with a score of 3:1 (-21, 18, 22, 20), putting themselves in a much better position to advance to the 3rd and final qualifying round of Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

In Bucharest, the hosts stood out particularly in blocking (16 blocks) and serving (10 aces), while Ljubljana struggled to find their rhythm. The most productive players for ACH Volley were Tonček Štern and Luka Marovt, who each scored 15 points. Dinamo’s key contributors were Romanians Peta (20) and Mihalcea (13), Serbian opposite Premović (16), and Latvian outside hitter Medenis (13).

To advance, ACH Volley must win Thursday’s home match either 3:0 or 3:1 and then prevail in the so-called Golden Set. Any other outcome would eliminate the Slovenian champions from this year’s Champions League qualification and redirect them to the CEV Cup. The team undoubtedly deserves strong support from the stands, as they have already proven this season how powerful they can be with the energy of their fans behind them.

Ahead of this crucial clash, head coach Igor Kolaković and player Alen Šket shared their thoughts.

“Thursday’s match is practically one of the highlights of our season. In Romania, after a promising start, we allowed our opponents to dictate the rhythm and put us in a very difficult position. For the return match, we’re hoping for a packed Tivoli and loud support from the stands to give us extra energy. I believe in our success,” said Kolaković.

The experienced opposite Šket added: “We have thoroughly analyzed the first match, and I believe the picture will be different in Tivoli. We simply cannot afford any lapses in concentration this time because our opponent will take advantage. We’ll fight for every point, every ball, and despite the challenging situation, we believe in a positive outcome.”

If Ljubljana advances, they will face the winner of the tie between Radnički Kragujevac (SRB) and TSV Raiffeisen Hartberg (AUT) in the final qualifying round. The Serbian champions currently hold the advantage after winning the first match 3:2 in Austria.

The match from Tivoli Hall will be broadcast live on Kanal A and VOYO, starting at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are still available at Eventim.si and all authorized sales outlets.