ACH Volley Ljubljana optimistic and cautious ahead of the first derby of the season

On Saturday (9 October at 17:30), volleyball fans will be treated to the first derby of the season between the old rivals ACH Volley Ljubljana and Calcit Volley in Hala Tivoli.

While in the opening round of the national championship last weekend, the volleyball players of ACH Volley Ljubljana justified their role as favourites against Panvita Pomgrad, the Kamnik team had to concede the superiority to the volleyball players from Maribor in a fierce battle. This is one of the reasons why the Kamnik volleyball players are even more motivated to come back with a win from tomorrow's away match in Tivoli.

They will try to thwart the plans of the multiple Slovenian champions, the volleyball players of ACH Volley Ljubljana, who have prepared well for their opponents. Mladen Kašić, the head coach of ACH Volley Ljubljana, summed up his thoughts ahead of tomorrow's derby: "We are facing our first derby in the championship against a quality Kamnik team, which is one of the best teams in the national championship. The team is more prepared than it was last weekend against Panvita. We had a whole week without a game, so we could concentrate on ourselves and train well. I hope we will play the game at a high level and manage to win."

The returning Slovenian national player Jani Kovačič also spoke about the expectations ahead of Saturday's derby: "Kamnik is a very quality team with foreigners who can make a difference in the game. We have prepared well for them and we can't wait for the game." The 29-year-old libero, who spent three very successful years with ACH Volley Ljubljana (2016-2019), added: "I had good feelings in derbies in the past and I couldn't wait for them. I don't think I'm the only one who is looking forward to tomorrow's derby."

Tomorrow's match will count double, in addition to the Sportklub First Volleyball League, it will also count for the Central European Volleyball Championship (MEVZA), where it will be the first match of the season for the ACH Volley Ljubljana volleyball team.