ACH Volley Ljubljana better than Calcit Volley in the derby

In the first derby of the season between the old rivals ACH Volley Ljubljana and Calcit Volley, we mostly watched the dominance of the current national and cup champions, who deservedly won with a score of 3:1 (13, 18, -24, 23).

ACH Volley Ljubljana : Calcit Volley   3 : 1 (13, 18, -24, 23).

ACH Volley Ljubljana: Mejal, Šket, Mašulović, Todorović 1, Bošnjak 1, Koncilja 15, Šestan 15, Kovačič (L), Gjorgiev 12, Videčnik 8, Kök 11, Šen.   Trener: Radovan Gačič

Calcit Volley: Planinšič 4, Mujanović 2, Vinkovič 1, Lazar 1, Klobučar 12, Košenina (L), Arsenoski 1, Okroglič 4, Sosa Sierra 24, Aponza Carabali 3, Pavlovič 10.   Trener: Matija Pleško

The opening set started with the home team taking a 3:1 lead on the opening shot by Šestan. Two successful attacks by Kök forced the visiting coach Pleško to take a break (6:2). Gjorgiev continued with strong opening shots, causing a lot of problems for the Kamnik team in organising their attack (11:2). The Orange Dragons' dominance continued in the second half of the set. After another Kamnik error, this time by Aponze over the first tempo, Pleško took a half-minute break for the second time. This did not change the situation on the court, as the Ljubljana players were in control until the end of the set and won convincingly with 25:13.

This time it was the guests from Kamnik who had the initial initiative in the second set (4:6), but after a block by Todorović, the home team managed to tie the score (6:6). ACH Volley's volleyball players stepped on the gas and took the lead, which provoked a reaction on the visitors' bench and a timeout (9:7). An outstanding attack by Šestan gave the lead to four points (12:8), while an attack error by Sosa gave the lead to six points (19:12). The doubts about the winner of the second set were cleared by a great block by Videčnik (25:18).

The third set started evenly, with the teams exchanging the lead several times (8:8). On Calcit Volley's side, Sosa's block was playful, but not enough for the spirited Dragons, who took the lead 14:9 after a block by Koncilja. A timeout at Plesek's request worked this time, as the visitors came close with three consecutive points (14:12), but the Ljubljana players responded fiercely and built up an almost unassailable lead before the end of the third set (19:13). The Kamnik players woke up at the last moment and came back into the game, and with a very combative defensive play, they took advantage of the second final ball to win the third set (24:26).

As if the unexpected loss of the set had angered the Dragons, they made a great start to the fourth set and led by three (9:6) with two blocks by Koncilja. Kamnik's players, on the wings of a determined Sosa, caught up (11:11) and took the lead (11:13) after a block by Pavlović. With good serve by captain Gjorgiev and a block by Videčnik, the Dragons tied the score on the 15th point. In the final set, the home team played better and deservedly won 3:1 after a successful attack by Gjorgiev.

Statement of ACH Volley Ljubljana coach Radovan Gačič: "I am extremely satisfied with the approach and play of my players until the middle of the third set, when we had everything under control. Then we allowed our opponents to come back into the game and play. In the end, however, we kept our cool and took the match to our advantage.

ACH Volley Ljubljana player Matej Kök: "We played the first two sets the way we agreed in the locker room. We made few mistakes of our own and with strong serves we kept the opponent away from the net. Then the opponent managed to turn it around and they came back into the game, but in the end we were happy with a well-deserved victory."