Slovenia extends its winning streak to four games: CEV Volleyball European League
The Men’s National Volleyball Team of Slovenia is making waves in the league round of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European League. Slovenia kicked off the campaign on strong footing and prevailed on opponents in every match extended their winning record to four
in a row. In recent matches, they posted a wonderful defeat over Croatia in a five-set thriller. The match was played at Sportna Dvorana Ljudski in Maribor, Slovenia on Sunday, June 5. The Slovenian team profited from the home advantage and finished with the
final score of 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 23-25, and 15-11). The home boys delighted a crowd of around 1,200 spectators, who came to watch the thrilling action on the centre court.
First set
The opening of the match was full of mistakes from both sides. Frequent serve errors and illegal hits created a bit of monotony in the match. However, gradually the situation got better as players of both teams settled down in their positions. Home team
picked up a narrow lead at the first technical timeout (8-7). Croatian spikers also did well and raised their score as the score ticked up with a slight difference of points. The scoreboard showed the same ratio of points at the second mandatory stop. Croatia
lagged behind with the gap of one-point (15-16). As the game progressed, Slovenia worked out better shots and tried to reach the set-point. Croatia resisted but couldn’t avoid the loss of opening set at 23-25. The first set of the game was played for 28 minutes.
Second set
As the game entered the second set, Slovenia libero Sebastian Skorc, was called off the court and Miha Plot replaced him. Croatian players grasped the game plan and poked the ball in rare gaps. Moreover, Croatia paid more attention to the defencive side
and killed some of the very good attacks by Slovenia hitters. Croatia led the score at first technical break 8-7. Afterwards, they played with same zeal and managed to drag home squad under pressure. Croatia led the game for better time and hit the equaliser
in the second set by posting 25-22 on the board.
Third set
The Slovenian team hit back angrily in the third set. They produced convincing shots and pushed the opponents behind the attack line. They took control of operations in the early few minutes and didn’t allow Croatia to come up. The Croatian players came
from different angles and couldn’t achieve the desired results. Third set was successful for Slovenia and they extended their lead to 2-1.
Fourth set
Croatia made speedy start in fourth set and chipped in consecutive points. Slovenia was stunned with heavy strike of volleys and trailed behind with five points at the FTT. However, Slovenia fought bravely and exchanged long rallies with their opponents.
The score tied at 12-all but soon Croatia broke the tie and moved ahead of Slovenia. The game took an interesting turn as Croatia tied the score at 2-2 by winning fourth set.
Fifth set
15-point golden set started out on a high note. Both sides actively attempted attacks and tried to take advantage of every little opportunity. Nevertheless, Slovenia proved to be better and scored victory with 4-point lead. Final set ended with 15-11 on
the score display screen. Slovenia added fourth win to their count since the start of the competition.
The Croatian coach, Radovan Malevic regretted the loss of second straight match but he appreciated the effort of his players. He stated: “We tried our best, but in the end our opponents were better, so I have to congratulate them. We knew from the beginning
that Slovenia is one of the best teams in this edition of the European League, especially in our Pool.”
Meanwhile, the assistant coach of Croatian Team Tine Sattler said that ups and downs are part of every game. This has not just happened to Croatia, there are other teams which are facing the similar problems. He hoped that Croatia will do well in the upcoming
matches and the deficit will be covered.
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