ACH Volley Ljubljana Dominates to Claim First Win in the Final Series

In the opening match of the Sportklub Slovenian Volleyball League Finals, fans in Tivoli Hall witnessed a dominant performance by the reigning national champions. ACH Volley Ljubljana lived up to their role as favorites and kicked off the final series with a convincing home victory. The series now moves to Kanal, where the second match will take place on Friday.

Ljubljana – Tivoli Sports Hall, Attendance: 632, Referees: Sanja Miklošič, Jure Vrenko
ACH Volley Ljubljana : Alpacem Kanal 3 : 0 (19, 14, 17)

ACH Volley Ljubljana: Golzadeh 5, Jošt Kržič, Šket 9, Najdič, Esko 1, Marovt, Šen 10, Janž Janez Kržič 5, Kovačič (L), Štalekar 4, Pokeršnik, Videčnik, Kök 8, Kumer (L).    Coach: Matjaž Hafner

Alpacem Kanal: Mugerli, Ćinćur 7, Jerončič 3, Vinčić 1, Godnič 1, Stojanović, Okroglič (L), Ristić 4, Kovačič, Maretič 4, Konjedic, Ranc 9.   Coach: Gregor Jerončič

The match started just the way ACH Volley Ljubljana had hoped. With strong serving that pushed Kanal away from the net and a block by Kržič, the home team quickly built a 6:2 lead. Even time-outs requested by visiting coach Jerončič couldn’t slow down the Orange Dragons. Štalekar delivered with a successful block, and Kök powered through on the attack to extend the lead to 19:12. Alpacem players showed more resistance late in the set and closed the gap to just three points (19:16), but after a time-out by Hafner, the Ljubljana team regrouped and calmly closed the set following a service error from the visitors (25:19).

The second set saw even more dominance from the defending champions. Their excellent serving completely dismantled Alpacem’s game plan, and a seven-point lead was already on the scoreboard midway through the set (13:6). The one-sided action continued with a brilliant blocking performance by the home team. With their seventh block of the match, ACH extended the lead to 19:8, and after another Alpacem error—this time in attack—they comfortably closed the set at 25:14.

ACH Volley continued their dominance in the third set. Once again, strong serving and a solid block were the keys. Kök, Štalekar, and Golzadeh each contributed in a scoring run, with Golzadeh adding an ace that left no doubt about the outcome. Šen capitalized on the first match point to seal the convincing victory for the Ljubljana side (25:17).

ACH Volley Ljubljana head coach Matjaž Hafner:
"Today, our excellent serving and solid blocking paved the way to an easy win. I congratulate the guys for their performance. However, we are well aware that a much tougher match awaits us on Friday in Kanal. Our focus is already on that game—now we need to rest and prepare properly."