ACH Volley Ljubljana to their first Champions League victory in front of a full Tivoli

ACH Volley Ljubljana and SWD Powervolleys Düren played in the second round of the Champions League group stage at the Tivoli Arena. In front of a crowd of more than 4,000, ACH Volley Ljubljana recorded their first win in this year's edition of the elite Champions League, defeating their rivals 3-1.

Ljubljana – športna dvorana Tivoli, gledalcev: 4161, referees: Vlastimil Kovar (Czech Republic), Vasileios Vaseileiadis (Greece).

 ACH Volley Ljubljana :  SWD powervolleys DÜREN 3 : 1 (20, 22, -21, 13).

ACH Volley Ljubljana: Mejal, Šket 11, Mašulović 7, Todorović 1, Bošnjak, Koncilja 4, Šestan, Kovačič (L), Gjorgiev 19, Videčnik 8, Kök 19, Šen.  Coach: Radovan Gačič.

SWD powervolleys DÜREN: Batanov (L), Urban, Van Der Ent 4, Rohrs 1, John 13, Andrae 9, Ernastowicz 18, Andrei 2, Burggraf 1, Pettersson 8, Kocian 2.   Coach: Rafal Murczkiewicz

The German volleyball team started the match better and took a 4:1 lead after Van Der Ent's excellent serves. The home strategist Gačič reacted to this and called a timeout. This woke up the Dragons, who quickly took the lead with strong opening shots by Kök and efficient attacking shots by Gjorgiev (5:5). Further on,, captain Gjorgiev and Šket tipped the scales in favour of the home volleyball players, who took the lead (10:8) on the wings of more than 4,000 loud supporters (10:8). Teams exchanged the lead several times in the first set, but the Dragons gained another two-point advantage after an outstanding block by Videčnik (19:17). In the end of the opening set, the Ljubljana volleyballers maintained their advantage. Mašulović, first with an attack and then with a block, made sure of an unassailable lead and the first final ball (24:20). Then the guests made a mistake in attack and the first set went to the Dragons (25:20).

At the start of the second set, the Dragons continued to play with more intensity and took a four-point lead (6:2). Despite the reaction of the visitors' bench, the situation on the court did not change much. The Dragons were reliable in their offensive finishes, but caused the visitors a lot of problems on their initial shots. After an ace by Šket, the score was 9:3 on the Tivoli Hall scoreboard. They shone especially on the opening stroke. Van Der Ent scored an ace to tie the game for the first time at 17. The Ljubljana players were more composed than the guests at the end of the second set and, to the delight of the fans in the Tivoli Hall, they won the second set, which was finished by the spirited Šket (25:22).

The third set started with a 1:6 win for the visitors, but after leading 2:0 in the set, the Ljubljana players let up. After a half-minute break, the Ljubljana volleyball team just played better and slowly but steadily approached the German team SWD powervolleys, almost catching them by the end of the set (20:22). The Germans managed to maintain their advantage and won the first final ball with an ace. The set was closed with an attack by the SWD powervolleys' opposite, John (21:25).

The start of the fourth set belonged to the Orange Dragons, who led 7:3 after an ace by Šket. A successful attack by Gjorgiev and then an ace by Koncilja gave the Dragons a six-point advantage (16:10). Videčnik continued his strong rhythm and increased the Ljubljanaers' lead with a block (18:10). ACH Volley volleyball players were in control of the game in the calm ending and recorded their first win. The match was closed by Šket with an attack point.

Statement of ACH Volley Ljubljana coach Radovan Gačič: "A great atmosphere and a packed Tivoli, which carried us to our first Champions League victory this year. The opening two sets and the first half of the third set we controlled things in principle and were one step ahead of our opponent. Then the game dropped and the opponent took advantage with a good opening shot. It is important that in the fourth set we reacted as befits an ACH Volley team and brought the match to our advantage."

IStatement of ACH Volley Ljubljana player Nikola Gjorgiev: "A very important victory that keeps us alive and makes us optimistic for the next game against the Turks. Now it's time to rest a bit and go forward in a winning rhythm."