ACH Volley Ljubljana opened the 5th Mevza League tournament with a win

ACH Volley Ljubljana

In the opening match of the 5th Central European Volleyball League MEVZA tournament, we watched the Slovenian champions, ACH Volley Ljubljana and SK Zadruga AICH/DOB, play in the Tivoli Hall. The Ljubljana volleyball team won the first match of the season with a convincing 3:0 score.

Ljubljana - Tivoli sports hall, spectators: 100, referees: Mezöffy Zsolt (Hungary), Stipaničev Matečić Ana (Croatia)

ACH Volley Ljubljana : SK Zadruga AICH/DOB 3 : 0 (18, 16, 22).

ACH Volley Ljubljana: Mejal, Šket, Todorović 2, Bošnjak (L), Koncilja 8, Šestan 13, Gjorgiev 15, Videčnik 6, Kök 9, Šen.  Coach: Radovan Gacic.

SK Zadruga AICH/DOB: Rainer, Pitakoudis 4, Kopschar 2, Steiner (L), Yordanov 8, Kruzhkov 10, Kratz, Kaibald 13, Krassnig, Kitzinger (L), Butler 1, Gacs 1. Coach: Zoran Kedacic.

A strong start of the Orange Dragons made it clear what the plan of the current champions of the Central European League is. Koncilja's block put the Ljubljana team ahead early on (7:1), and an ace by Kök for a 16:10 lead sparked a reaction on the visitors' bench and a half-minute break. The Slovenian champions used aggressive service to keep their opponents away from the net and went point for point. The opening set ended after an attacking error by Yordanov (25:18).

The second set was also dominated by the Ljubljana team. Kök, with a series of strong opening shots, made it difficult for the guests to organise their attack, while Gjorgiev, with an excellent block, gave them a lead This led to a tie at 12. In the second half of the set, Šestan and Videčnik, with two effective attacks each, took a four-point lead before the end of the second set. After four consecutive points from the Croatian national player, the set ended on 16 points.

The most even match of the match was the opening of the third set. SK Zadruga's volleyball players managed to escape with an excellent serve to a four-point advantage, Kruzhkov scored two aces and Kopschar one for a 10:6 lead. In the following set, ACH Volley's volleyball players rallied, and with a solid block and patient play, they tied the score at 16. The guests allowed themselves too many errors in the final moments of the set, and two time-outs at the request of coach Kedacic did not help either. The match ended after a great attack by captain Gjorgiev (25:22).

Statement of ACH Volley Ljubljana coach Radovan Gačič "Especially in the first two sets we were a level better opponent. We served well and were efficient in attack. In the third set we dropped a little bit, especially on serve, but we responded in the right time and deservedly won 3:0."