Ljubljana team finishes the regular season in second place

ACH Volley Ljubljana : OK Merkur Maribor 1:3 (-24, 21, -23, -23)

ACH Volley Ljubljana: Toman, Ropret 1, Pernuš, Toukhteh 15, Dagostino, Pavlović, Bošnjak, Okroglič 6, Rutar, Pokeršnik 6, Videčnik 6, Kök 4, Vučićevič 20.

OK Merkur Maribor: Cafuta 1, Herman, Šket 13, Mulec 2, Detela, Možič 20, Košenina, Donik 2, Uremovič 2, Adžović, Planinšič, Kisiliuk, Ikhbajri 29, Kovačič.

ACH Volley Ljubljana and OK Merkur Maribor will play for the first place in the standings in Tivoli. In a close and tense match, the visiting team won 3:1 (-24, 21, -23, -23).

Both teams entered the match strongly and very evenly matched (9:9), but in the second half of the set Maribor started to press with strong and precise attacks. Šket scored the 19th point to put the visitors two up (19:17), and after a half-minute break at the request of the Dragons' coach, the hosts managed to tie the score at 19:19 with Pokeršnik's attack. In the playoffs, the hosts were chasing Maribor by a point. Maribor got the first final ball after a missed serve by Okroglič and took advantage of it after Ikhbajri's attack (24:26).

In the second set, the Slovenian champions took the initiative, showing a more solid defence with a block early on (7:5) and a three-point advantage with Pokeršnik's attack (11:8). After a mistake by the Dragons, the visitors were only a point behind (16:15) and the teams entered the playoffs with identical margins (21:20). Vučićević scored a fierce shot for 22:20 and Ikhbajri hit back in the very next action (22:21). That was the last point for the visitors in the second set, as a block and Toukhteh's attack settled the score at 1-1 in sets (25:21).

The third set started convincingly for the hosts, who led 5:2 with an ace by Toukhteh. The Maribor players quickly got closer (6:5). The Dragons escaped again (10:6) when the visitors' strategist intervened. After a half-minute break, the Štajerska players were only two points behind with a block (11:9), but soon after the score was tied at 12:12. The two teams, who were fighting for the first place after the regular season of the national championship, showed a great fight in the second half of the set, as neither team let up for a moment in the second half (20:20). In the final set, after a poor reception by the hosts, Maribor attacked easily and gained a small advantage (20:22), which they did not let out of their hands and won the third set 23:25 thanks to a Skete attack.

In the fourth set, it was a similar story. The two teams were practically evenly matched and it was the little things that made the difference. The available Ikhbajri scored two important points in a row for Maribor to tie the score at 20:20, and then it was thanks to him that Maribor got the first final ball for the win. Again, they didn't need more than one (23:25).

Matija Pleško, Head Coach of ACH Volley Ljubljana: ''We chose a more difficult path to our goal, but that doesn't mean we gave up. With all the problems and departures we have had this year, we played a hard-fought match today, where the little things made the difference and in the end the win went to Maribor. I am thinking here especially of the two quite dominant strikers on the undeveloped attack like Ikhbajri and Možič, who we practically couldn't stop today. On the other hand, we were not in the mood at the pins. Nevertheless, I saw a real fighting team spirit, and for today's match I would like to congratulate Maribor for the first place. We are going back to our hall, we have to keep working, we have the final tournament of the MEVZA in front of us, where others have their appetites as well as us.''

Sebastijan Škorc, coach of OK Merkur Maribor: ''This is one of the strongest championships in the history of Slovenian volleyball and today's match was a win for us. There were a lot of mistakes, but there were a lot of top moves in defence, block, protection, in short we played very good volleyball, which is very good for Slovenian volleyball. We managed to pull out all the playoffs and it's important that we did it away in Tivoli. I have to congratulate the boys for what they showed and also for what they show in training. For us, one training session is never wasted, everyone gives their best and that showed today on the court, along with our energy.''