ACH Volley Ljubljana volleyball team victorious also in Maribor

ACH Volley Ljubljana

In the 5th round of the Sportklub First Volleyball League, we witnessed a match in the Tabor sports hall between old rivals, the home team Merkur Maribor and the current national and cup champions, ACH Volley Ljubljana. The latter emerged victorious with a score of 3:1 and remain undefeated after the fifth league match.

Maribor - Tabor Sports Hall, 150 spectators, referees: Klinar, Pevc.

Merkur Maribor: Kumer, Vodušek 1, Pernuš 3, Adžović 4, McConnel 15, Valenčič, Bračko 12, Fužir (L), Kržič 4, Donik 10, Fink 7, Novak. Coach: Sebastijan Škorc.

ACH Volley Ljubljana: Mejal 1, Kržič 5, Šket 15, Najdič 4, Marovt 1, Šen 14, Koncilja 6, Kovačič (L), Gjorgiev 10, Sešek, Pokeršnik 1, Videčnik. Coach: Radovan Gačič

The match was better opened by the visitors from Ljubljana, and a remarkable block by Koncilja gave them a 4:2 lead. After another block, this time by Kržič, the Dragons extended their lead to three points (4:7), and Najdič's ace for 8:4 triggered a reaction from the home team's bench. However, this did not change the situation on the Tabor court, as Šket's block stopped McConnel's attack, giving the Ljubljana team a 12:6 lead, and captain Gjorgiev increased it to 15:8 with an effective attack. The Slovenian champions did not let up, and an excellent start by Kržič and Koncilja's powerful finish via the first tempo led to a 20:13 advantage, resulting in the second interruption at Škorc's request. In the calm ending of the set, ACH Volley Ljubljana's first set ball was secured by Šket with a successful attack, and Šen used the second for a win in the first set (17:25).

The second set was opened with an ace by Jošt Kržič, but unlike the first set, this time Merkur's players managed to establish balance on the court and took a three-point lead (9:6) after successful attacks by McConnel and Bračko. The coach of the Slovenian champions, Gačič, called for the first time-out, but this did not stop the Maribor players. The increasingly in-form McConell reached his seventh point with an attack for 12:8. The guests made a large number of unforced errors, which the Maribor players took advantage of, staying ahead of ACH Volley (15:10; 16:12). Some bright moments on the side of the guests were not enough to get the Ljubljana volleyball players closer and threaten Maribor's win in the second set. Fink concluded it with a clever move via the middle (25:20).

The third set began evenly, as the teams exchanged the lead until the middle of the set. Then, after two mistakes by the visitors, the home volleyball players took a 16:14 lead, prompting Gačič to call for a timeout. The Dragons leveled the score at 17 points with an ace by Koncilja, but the Merkur volleyball players regained a two-point advantage with spirited play in defensive actions (19:17). After a new tie at 19 points, the Tabor Sports Hall witnessed exciting volleyball with many beautiful moves on both sides. In the final stages, ACH Volley Ljubljana's volleyball players had a slight advantage and managed to maintain it for a close win and a 2:1 lead in sets (23:25).

Determined to equalize the score in sets, the Maribor volleyball players started the fourth set excellently (4:1). Šket reduced the score to 3:4 with an ace, and we once again witnessed a closely contested match. After a series of serves by Šen, the Orange Dragons managed a partial score of 4:0 and took the lead at 17:14. They maintained their advantage until the end (18:21), where they were more focused than the home team's players. An error by Adžović in the attacking action brought the first match point for the Dragons, which Mejal used with an excellent block for a fifth consecutive league victory for ACH Volley Ljubljana (19:25).

Statement by ACH Volley Ljubljana Coach Radovan Gačič: "We were aware that Merkur Maribor is a quality team, especially at home, and that they don't give up easily. Even though we won the opening set more easily than we initially expected, we played worse in the next two sets and made too many unforced errors. It was important that we maintained our composure in the final stages of the third set and took a 2:1 lead. Then, in the fourth set, we stepped up a bit and convincingly secured the win on this challenging visit to Maribor."

Statement by ACH Volley Ljubljana Player Primož Mejal: "It's great that we return from our visit to Maribor with a full haul of points. We had some fluctuations in our game, but in the end, we managed to win the match with the right energy and determination on this challenging visit to Maribor. Now we have enough time for training and preparation for the match against Panvita next Friday."