Ljubljana Volleyball Players Fall to a Painful Defeat in Bucharest After a Strong Start

Slovenian champions ACH Volley Ljubljana suffered a tough loss in the first leg of the 2nd round of CEV Champions League qualification, falling to Dinamo Bucharest after an excellent start. Despite convincingly winning the opening set, the Romanian champions staged a comeback, relying on their strong serve and block-defense to claim a 3:1 victory. The return leg will take place next Thursday, November 13, at 8:00 p.m. in Tivoli Hall.

Bucharest – Sala Polivalenta, Attendance: 1200. Referees: Lot (Italy), Kurtiss (Latvia).
Dinamo Bucharest – ACH Volley Ljubljana 3:1 (-21, 18, 22, 20)

Dinamo Bucharest: Cukur 4, Ghionea 2, Peta 21, Mihalcea 12, Druta, Diaconescu (L), Premović 15, Burggraf, Oprea, Medenis 13, Balai, Cardoso 1, Calin 8, Verciuc. Head coach: Bogdan Tanase.
ACH Volley Ljubljana: Štern 15, Pajenk 5, Jošt Kržič, Šket 1, Najdič, Marovt 16, Šen 9, Janž Janez Kržič 6, Klobučar, Kovačič (L), Prevorčnik, Ropret 4, Urnaut, Verdinek (L). Head coach: Igor Kolaković.

ACH Volley started the match impressively in Bucharest. Setter Ropret distributed the ball efficiently, with four players already on the scoresheet by the time the score reached 7:4. The Slovenian champions maintained their high tempo, forcing an early timeout from the home side at 4:10. Ljubljana continued to dominate with strong serving and efficient attacking play (16:11). Marovt, in great form, contributed with a block and a powerful spike to give his team a six-point lead (14:20). Despite a brief surge from Dinamo, the visitors stayed composed, Šen delivered two crucial points, and Janž Kržič sealed the set on their second set point after a service error by Cukur (21:25).

The latter stages of the first set hinted at a Romanian resurgence, which materialized immediately in the second. Dinamo elevated their serving pressure and blocking game, causing significant problems for Ljubljana’s reception. The visitors quickly fell behind (20:14), and the set ended in Dinamo’s favor after a strong attack by Calin (25:18).

The third and fourth sets followed a similar pattern, with Dinamo maintaining high energy and aggressive serving. ACH Volley struggled to respond to the Romanian serve and lacked precision and decisiveness in attack. The home side capitalized, entering both sets’ final phases with a lead. Ljubljana managed to level the score at 22-all in the third, but Peta,named the match MVP-secured the set for Dinamo. In the fourth and final set, there were no doubts about the winner, as the hosts closed the match on their third match point following a service error by Štern (25:20).

ACH Volley Ljubljana Head Coach Igor Kolaković:
“A tough loss for our team. After a good start, we allowed our opponents to take control, especially through their serve, giving away too many easy points. We also didn’t defend well when we were serving effectively, which put us in trouble. We missed part of our opportunity today in Bucharest, but credit to Dinamo for their strong performance. For the return match on Thursday, we must find solutions and ensure qualification to the next round.”