Victory stays at home
ACH Volley Ljubljana : OK Merkur Maribor 3:1 (22, -21, 15, 22)
ACH Volley Ljubljana: Toman, Ropret 3, Pernuš, Toukhteh 15, Pavlović, Bošnjak, Okroglič, Rutar, Pokeršnik 11, Videčnik 6, Kök 8, Vučićević 22.
OK Merkur Maribor: Cafuta 3, Herman, Šket 18, Detela 1, Možič 18, Košenina, Donik, Uremovič 7, Adžović A., Adžović S., Planinšič 1, Kisiliuk 7, Ikhbayri, Kovačič.
After a three-week break, the two best Sportklub clubs of the first volleyball league returned to the competition floor. The Dragons added a second win to their first victory in the final series today. They beat the guests 3:1 (22, -21, 15, 22).
The interruption of the training and competition process had an expected effect on the game of both sides. Štajerci had problems with their opening shot, while the hosts also needed some time to warm up their engine. Matija Pleško was the first to intervene after the half-minute break, with an ace at 7:10. Next, the Dragons reduced the deficit to just a point with an ace from Ropret, but Detela came back with the same measure on the opposite side, with an ace to give Maribor a 14:11 lead. The Ljubljana team quickly found a tie (15:15), and in the playoffs, thanks to a solid defence, they had 3 blocks and won the set (25:22).
Maribor caught the rhythm in the middle of the second set and had their minutes (11:16), but Vučićević broke them with a block (12:16). The Serbian was the key man in the next set with two consecutive aces to get the Dragons back into the set (15:17). Pokeršnik contributed a point to tie it at 18:18, but in the playoffs the guests scored 3 consecutive points (20:23) and finished the second set in their favour with an ace from Šket (21:25).
The third set was one-way street. The hosts took an early 7:2 lead and did not let their opponents get any closer (14:8). It stayed like that until the end of the set and the Dragons took a 2:1 lead in the set (25:15) with a 10 point difference.
The start of the fourth set was similar to the third. The home team took a quick lead (7:4), but Vučićević's finish increased the advantage to 4 points (13:9). But with an ace by Uremovič, Maribor came closer (13:12). The teams were evenly matched until the end of the game (21:20), and then Ljubljana players brought the game to a close with 25:22.
Gregor Ropret, captain of ACH Volley Ljubljana: ''Today the game was not at the highest level, which was to be expected. It was a tough match after this break and after practically only one week of training. I'm glad we stuck together until the end, even when we didn't do well. In the end, we pulled out one really important win and we can go to Maribor relaxed to look for the end of the championship.''
Sebastijan Škorc, coach of OK Merkur Maribor: ''We have been doing all other sports than volleyball this month. After the first half, we had a fantastic game and that's why we finished it in first place. This is a team that trains and works a lot. In fact, we were without the ball for 14 days and you can't put a game together in 4, 5 days after a break. I am glad that nobody got injured today. We don't have much time until Tuesday, so we will do lighter training these days and give our best in the third match.''