Slovenia qualifies for the Nation Cup finals

Slovenia’s women’s beach volleyball team has achieved a major breakthrough. The Slovenian national team, featuring Tjaša Kotnik and Anja Puckmeister as well as Živa Javornik and Maja Marolt, secured first place in the group stage of the Nations Cup in Constanta and will compete in the grand final in Budapest this July.
The Slovenian women’s beach volleyball team has completed its performances in the group stage of the Nations Cup, which already counts as part of the qualification process for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. After splitting Saturday’s matches against the Czech team, the Slovenians first defeated Romania and then Croatia on Sunday to secure their place in the final.

The Slovenian pairs Tjaša Kotnik and Anja Puckmeister, along with Živa Javornik and Maja Marolt, opened Group A competition in Constanta against the Czech Republic. Kotnik and Puckmeister played the opening match and, after a fierce battle, lost 21:18, 17:21, 9:15 to the Czech duo Brinkova/Žolnercikova. Javornik and Marolt then stepped onto the sand and defeated Dvornikova/Kleiblova 18:21, 21:17, 15:12.

Photo: Elis Iordache

The second day of competition started successfully for the Slovenian representatives, as both pairs defeated both Romanian teams. Kotnik and Puckmeister comfortably beat Murgoci and Miu 21:8, 21:15. An hour later, Javornik and Marolt also secured victory, overcoming Alupei/Vaida 22:20, 21:16. Slovenia concluded the tournament in Romania with matches against Croatia. Kotnik and Puckmeister convincingly defeated Cucek/Vuk 21:8, 21:13, while Javornik and Marolt recorded another dominant win, 21:9, 21:12 against ?osi? and Šverko.

Slovenian head coach Tadej Boženk was very satisfied after the performances in Romania: “The matches are behind us, and we did our job. I think the girls really showed fighting spirit, even though the conditions were not easy. We had wind, rain, sunshine, and every possible weather condition you can get in Romania at this time of year. The girls adapted extremely well to the conditions set by set. My sincere congratulations to them because they really worked hard, stayed focused, and had the desire to win. I’m only sorry about the first match against the Czech Republic, where Tjaša and Anja had a great rhythm, a great opportunity, and played very well, but the Czech pair were also excellent and ultimately fortunate that the match turned in their favor. I just hope that won’t be the match that keeps us from reaching the final.”

After the final match of the day, in which Romania’s Alupei and Vaida surprised the Czech pair Dvornikova/Kleiblova, it became clear that Slovenia had secured first place in Group A, guaranteeing the Slovenian team a place in the finals in Budapest from July 16 to 19.

Photo: Elis Iordache

Boženk added: “We finished the tournament in Romania with first place. I’m truly very happy that we achieved this and qualified for the finals. We continue this Nations Cup journey and head to Budapest. The girls wanted this very much. They worked hard, trusted each other, and what matters most to me is that they played as a true team, as a real national squad. When things got tough, they encouraged one another and cheered for each other. Every point mattered. We did our part, and then we had to wait to see how the match between the Czech and Romanian teams would unfold. When all the points were counted, we celebrated. Congratulations to the girls. I’m very happy and I hope we can achieve a good result in Budapest as well.”

Živa Javornik, who together with Maja Marolt recorded three wins in three matches, said after the tournament that the Slovenian team showed its current maximum level in Constanta: “I think we girls can be very satisfied with the performance we showed. We gave our all in every match. In the end, we won all the matches except one, and even that one we lost 2:1. Our biggest rivals were the Czech team, and that was also our most important match. We played them on the first day and performed well in both matches. On Sunday we had two easier opponents, Romania and Croatia. I think we showed everything we had: good team spirit and good work with our coaches.”

Photo: Elis Iordache

Tjaša Kotnik, considered the most experienced member of the national team and partnered with newcomer Anja Puckmeister, was especially pleased with how well the team handled all conditions: “This morning we had our first match against Romania. The conditions were challenging, very windy, but both teams played excellently and both won their matches 2:0. In the afternoon we played Croatia, who fought well, but we were still the better team and both of our pairs won 2:0. We finished the day with all victories and hoped it would be enough to qualify for the finals.”

At the finals in Budapest, the winners of all five groups will compete against one another. So far, the qualified teams are the Netherlands, Latvia, and Slovenia, while the remaining two qualifying tournaments will take place in Turkey in June. The host nation Hungary will also compete for the prestigious title in the only national-team competition in beach volleyball.