Current World Club Champions too strong opponent for ACH Volley Ljubljana
The fifth round of the Champions League group stage saw ACH Volley Ljubljana and the current world club champions, Perugia from Italy, play in the Tivoli Arena. In front of a crowd of more than 4000 people, we witnessed attractive volleyball on both sides, but in the end, it was the favoured Perugia volleyball team who won a well-deserved victory.
Ljubljana –Tivoli hall, spectators: 4026, sodnika: Aleksandar Vinaliev (Bulgaria), Wojciech Maroszek (Poland).
ACH Volley Ljubljana : Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia 1 : 3 (-21, -15, 23, -15).
ACH Volley Ljubljana: Mejal, Šket 6, Mašulović 1, Todorović 1, Bošnjak, Koncilja 5, Šestan 15, Kovačič (L), Gjorgiev 8, Videčnik 2, Kök 14, Šen 1. Coach: Radovan Gačič.
Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia: Giannelli 2, Herrera 25, Rychlicki, Leon, Piccinelli (L), Sole 9, Flavio 5, Semeniuk 13, Plotnytskyi 9, Ropret, Cardenas 2, Mengozo . Coach: Andrea Anastasi.
The opening minutes of the game were even, with the visitors gaining their first significant advantage and leading by five points (10:15). The second timeout was then called by the home strategist Gačič, which woke up the Orange Dragons, who, on the wings of strong opening shots by a playful Kök, closed the gap to three points (14:17). A reaction on the Perugia bench and a timeout at the request of Anastasi followed. The rest of the set was also attractive volleyball, with many nice moves on both sides, Italian volleyball team won with 25:21.
In the second set, ACH Volley Ljubljana played with confidence and took a 6:5 lead. Kök continued to be excellent, with two more aces to take a three-point lead (10:7). The World Club Champions were on their heels throughout and after a great attacking finish by Hererra from the second line, they tied the score at 11. In the second half of the set, we saw the domination of the best team in the world, who shifted up a gear and gained a five-point advantage (12:17). In the calm end of the set, the Italian volleyball team came out with a confident victory (15:25) thanks to the fierce serves of the left-handed opposite Herrera.
The Dragons also opened the third set with a great start and escaped the Perugia volleyball team (6:1) with strong opening shots. The favoured Italians quickly restored the balance and evened the score on the seventh point. The Ljubljana team had a small slump in their game, but with some substitutions they brought some extra energy into the game and caught the Sir's volleyball team on the 19th point. In a tense endgame, Koncilja's successful attack through the first tempo first settled the score at 22, then with a great block and finally a service by Kök, they surprised the guests and won the third set (25:23).
In the fourth set, we saw Perugia's undefeated volleyball team dominate the entire set. They were especially strong on the opening shot, with Semeniuk and Herrera stringing together a series of aces (13 aces in total for Perugia) to take a big lead (9:21). The match ended in favour of the favoured guests after a successful attack by the match MVP, Cuban Herrera (15:25).
Statement of ACH Volley Ljubljana coach Radovan Gačič: "Once again, an exceptional atmosphere in a full Tivoli Hall and a quality opponent who didn't let us breathe for a moment. Despite the defeat, we saw some good things today, from which we must draw positives and prepare well for the match against the Turks, which will decide our European spring."
ACH Volley Ljubljana player Matej Kök: "It was great to come back to a full Tivoli and play in front of our amazing fans. Perugia was too strong an opponent this time, but we can go into the new matches with our heads held high."