Orange Dragons Claim Another Convincing Victory

In the 7th round of the Sportklub Slovenian Volleyball League, we witnessed a showdown in Planina Sports Hall in Kranj between Merkur Triglav Kranj and the undefeated team ACH Volley Ljubljana. The Slovenian champions claimed their seventh consecutive league victory.

Kranj – Planina Sports Hall, Attendance: 200, Referees: Jure Vrenko, Mihajlo Milojević
Merkur Triglav Kranj : ACH Volley Ljubljana 0 : 3 (23-25, 17-25, 17-25)

Merkur Triglav Kranj: Sokol 1, Križanič 5, Vinkovič 12, Tučen 4, Fajfar, Veber, Jančič 11, Šikanič 1, Zalokar (L), Bregar, Grabec 2. Coach: Sašo Rop.
ACH Volley Ljubljana: Golzadeh, Kržič Jošt, Šket 14, Najdič, Esko 3, Marovt, Šen 10, Kržič Janž Janez, Kovačič (L), Štalekar 5, Pokeršnik 3, Videčnik 6, Kök 8, Kumer (L). Coach: Matjaž Hafner.

The match in Planina Sports Hall started strong for the home team, Merkur, with two aces by Križanič and a block by Vinkovič giving them a 4:1 lead. However, ACH Volley Ljubljana quickly found their rhythm, with Šen’s ace leveling the score at 9. The tempo increased, and Videčnik’s attack raised the lead to 16:13. An in-form Šket (7 points in the first set) provided the first set point (24:21), though Triglav showed resilience, defending two set points. Following a timeout called by Coach Hafner, Šen clinched the set with a decisive attack (23-25).

The second set saw the reigning Slovenian champions dominate early, taking a 9:3 lead after an ace from Videčnik and a block by Štalekar. A timeout by Triglav’s coach Rop failed to disrupt their momentum, with Štalekar pushing the score to 15:7. The team from Kranj struggled to keep pace with their opponents, who, after another successful attack by Šket, took a 2-0 set lead (17-25).

In the third set, Ljubljana showed an even stronger performance. Kök, who came in for Pokeršnik, delivered an ace for a 3:1 lead. Numerous errors by Merkur Triglav contributed to the widening score gap (11:17). The Dragons kept control as Esko served two consecutive aces, with Kök setting up the match point, which Šket seized with a powerful final play (17-25).

Statement from ACH Volley Ljubljana’s Coach, Matjaž Hafner: “We know that playing in Kranj can be tricky, but that’s no excuse. In the opening set, we played inconsistently, but we managed to reduce the fluctuations in the following sets and controlled the match more easily. We’re happy with the victory and the three points, even though they were expected today.”