In the men’s MEVZA League, OK MERKUR MARIBOR celebrated a 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-21) away win at former champions SK Zadruga AICH/DOB on Saturday night. Therefore, Slovenia’s reigning national champions drew level with table leaders ACH Volley LJUBLJANA, both now on 24 points, while the hosts remain in third place in the current standing.
AICH/DOB’s sports director Martin Micheu stood in for head coach Zvonko Nicolic, who was unable to attend for personal reasons. “I could not count on a full roster, so I am not dissatisfied with the performance. My players tried their best and gave Maribor a good fight over four sets,” Micheu explained. Maribor’s Ahmed Abulubaba Ikhbayri was the player of the match after delivering an impressive performance that saw him finishing on 25 points, while Konrad Formela stood out for the home side with 15 points.
In the second MEVZA League match this evening, OK Calcit KAMNIK claimed a 3-0 (25-20, 31-29, 25-19) home victory over competition rookies TJ Spartak MYJAVA. As a result, the hosts moved up to fourth place in the current standing on seven points. KAMNIK’s captain Mitja Gasparini played for the first time this season from the beginning. “There were quite a few small victories tonight, one of them that Gasparini (19 points) was able to play the whole match. Tommi Siirilä is becoming more and more involved in the team, so I am glad that his contribution to the victory today was big,” KAMNIK’s head coach Matija Plesko said.
Already on Friday UVC Holding GRAZ suffered a 0-3 (20-25, 17-25, 21-25) home loss at the hands of title holders ACH Volley LJUBLJANA. The ‘Orange Dragons’ have not dropped a single point in the eight matches they have contested so far. Austria’s reigning national champions, on the other hand, are currently sitting in sixth place in the standing on four points with a 1-5 win-loss record. Lorenz Rössl and Michael Ladner split the best scorer’s honours for the hosts with seven points each, while ACH Volley’s Jure Orkoglic topped the match scorers on 11 points.
In the Sunday’s match, HAOK Mladost ZAGREB secured three points against VKP BRATISLAVA (SVK), winning 3-1 (27-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-18) on home soil. “This was not our best performance. We played two or three matches per week in the past two month. Therefore, we were missing time to practise seriously. Anyway, we have to play better, if we want to reach our goals in the MEVZA League,” so ZAGREB’s head coach Radovan Gacic. Matus Kalny, head coach BRATISLAVA: “We played very well in the first three sets – especially in block and defense. I am satisfied with our performance and I am sure that we will continue to improve step by step this season.”
Men’s MEVZA League
19.11.: UVC Holding GRAZ (AUT) vs. ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (SLO) 0-3 (20-25, 17-25, 21-25)
20.11.: SK Zadruga AICH/DOB (AUT) vs. OK MERKUR MARIBOR (SLO) 1-3 (25-19, 20-25, 20-25, 21-25)
20.11.: OK Calcit KAMNIK (SLO) vs. TJ Spartak MYJAVA (SVK) 3-0 (25-20, 31-29, 25-19)
21.11.: HAOK Mladost ZAGREB (CRO) vs. VKP BRATISLAVA (SVK) 3-1 (27-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-18)
SPORTLIVE
