At ACH Volley Ljubljana’s First Team Meeting – All 13 Players Present

The players of ACH Volley Ljubljana are back together. Yesterday, the entire squad of the reigning national champions gathered for the first time, officially kicking off preparations for the new season. All 13 players attended the introductory meeting, but for now only four of them – Klemen Šen, Jožef Verdinek, Alen Šket, and Jaka Prevorčnik – remain with the club for preseason training. The other nine “Orange Dragons” are currently on international duty with the Slovenian national team, preparing for the upcoming World Championship. Tonček Štern, Alen Pajenk, Jošt Kržič, Nejc Najdič, Luka Marovt, Gregor Ropret, Janž Janez Kržič, Jani Kovačič, and Tine Urnaut have temporarily set aside their club uniforms and joined the national team, while the remaining quartet has started training under head coach Igor Kolaković.

Both the domestic championship and the Champions League qualification phase will begin in the second half of October. ACH Volley Ljubljana will open the national league (1. DOL) with an away match in Maribor, followed by the Champions League qualification round just days later in the Netherlands. On this first gathering of all 13 teammates, a few shared their thoughts:

Head Coach, Igor Kolaković:

“Our team certainly wants to compete in the Champions League, but there is still a lot of work and many challenges ahead – we have to progress step by step. On the one hand, I’m proud that we have nine Slovenian internationals in our squad, but on the other hand, it is quite unusual to begin preparations with only four players, as the others are away with the national team. The start will therefore be a little unusual, but I am very much looking forward to having them back at the end of September – healthy, motivated, and hopefully with a successful World Championship behind them.”

Tine Urnaut:

“Our main club objective is to play the best volleyball possible. We will all give our maximum effort. The long-term goal for the season is, of course, to win both the national championship and the domestic cup, but we must stay focused on each match individually and take it step by step. There will be some very strong teams in Slovenia already – such as Alpacem Kanal, i-Vent Maribor, and Calcit Kamnik, among others. The same goes for Europe: we must concentrate only on the next match, and for us that begins with the Dutch team in the qualification round.”

Jani Kovačič:

“It’s always great to be here in Tivoli with the whole team. Although most of us will now be separated for a few weeks due to our commitments with the national team, the goals with the club remain high. We cannot limit ourselves to just domestic ambitions – our targets also lie in the Champions League. Of course, we must first qualify, but I strongly believe we will make it and then prove ourselves in the group stage of Europe’s elite competition.”

Nejc Najdič:

“The team is now made up of a good mix of young and more experienced players. We, the younger ones, will learn from the veterans but also bring energy and fighting spirit. Naturally, our goal is to qualify for the Champions League group stage with as few obstacles as possible. From there, we will face a very tough group, but I still believe we have what it takes to advance further into the quarterfinals. After that, anything is possible.”

Rasto Oderlap, Club President:

“I am pleased that all players were present at our first gathering – nobody was missing. Of course, due to the World Championship in the Philippines, we will now continue with a reduced squad. The players were welcomed by the coach, and we also took a moment to look toward the future. Our ambitions must go beyond winning domestic trophies; we must also strive for strong and memorable results in the Champions League.”