MEVZA League: Win over ZAGREB give AICH/DOB boost in race for Final Four spot

SK Zadruga AICH/DOB (AUT) secured their fourth MEVZA League win in a row on Thursday night. The former champions left no chance to HAOK Mladost ZAGREB (CRO), claiming a quite compelling 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-17) home victory at the JUFA Arena Bleiburg. Therefore, AICH/DOB seized the opportunity to recapture the third place in the current standing after increasing their points to 15 on a 5-4 win-loss record. Above all, Matjaz Hafner’s team is back in contention for a spot in the Final Four tournament. Mladost, on the other hand, suffered their third loss in four MEVZA League matches they have contested this season so far.

AICH/DOB’s Victor Miranda de Alcantara was the best scorer of the match after delivering a very solid performance resulting in a personal tally of 13 points. His teammates Konrad Formela and Maximilian Landfahrer kept very close with 12 each, while Ivan Zeljkovic and Tomislav Mitrasinovic were the best scorers for the away side with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The match stats underline the superiority of Austria’s heavyweight: attack 53% vs 42%, winning blocks 11 vs 7, aces 7 vs 2 and opponent errors 16 vs 17.

The main round of the competition will continue on Saturday, when bottom of the table and competition rookies UVC Holding GRAZ (AUT) will be locking horns with Final Four tournament hosts Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL (AUT). The 2020-2021 edition of the MEVZA League will reach its climax on February 27 and 28 at the Zwettl sports hall. As organisers, the ‘Nordmänner’ have already qualified for the season’s grand finale.

MEVZA League main round

20.01.: OK MERKUR MARIBOR (SLO) vs. HAOK Mladost ZAGREB (CRO) 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-15)
21.01.: SK Zadruga AICH/DOB (AUT) vs. HAOK Mladost ZAGREB (CRO) 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-17)
23.01., 19:00: UVC Holding GRAZ (AUT) vs. Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL (AUT)

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