Slovenia’s Volleyball Achievers of 2023: A Year of Triumphs

In December, Slovenia’s volleyball community recognized its most outstanding players and coaches of the year. Over 2,000 fans participated in an online voting process, augmented by votes from the Expert Council of the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia and the Beach Volleyball and Sitting Volleyball Commissions.

Masa Pucelj was honored as the top female volleyball player of the year. In 2023, she excelled in the Slovenian national team at CEV EuroVolley and the qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games. She earned a gold medal with the youth national team at the European Youth Olympic Festival and secured the national champion title with Calcit Volley. Her impressive performances in the elite CEV Champions League were also noteworthy. This is Pucelj’s inaugural award as the best volleyball player of the year, following in the footsteps of Tina Grudina, Iza Mlakar, Eva Mori, and Sasa Planinsec.

The title of the top male volleyball player of the year, previously won by Tine Urnaut, Klemen Cebulj, and Gregor Ropret, was awarded to Rok Mozic for the first time. Mozic achieved a bronze medal with the Slovenian national team at the 2023 CEV EuroVolley, qualified for the final tournament of the Volleyball Nations League, and helped the Slovenian national team reach an impressive seventh place in the world rankings. At only 21 years, he plays a pivotal role in the Italian top-level team Rana Verona, proudly wearing the captain’s armband.

Maja Marolt was recognized as the Best Beach Volleyball Player for the first time, a title previously held three times by Tjasa Kotnik. Marolt competed with the Slovenian national team in the 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers and achieved success in the European Club’s Championships and the MEVZA Senior Club’s Championships. Together with Ziva Javornik, she secured 9th place at the U22 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championships and won gold medals at both the MEVZA senior event and the national championship.

In previous years, Vid Jakopin and Rok Bracko were voted as the best male beach volleyball players. This year, Nejc Zemljak received the honor for his exceptional performance in the Beach Pro Tour events and national championships. He competed with the national team in the qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games and was a prominent figure in the Queen & King of the Court series in 2023.

The year 2023 also marked the first selection of the Best Paravolley Players. Suzana Ocepek and Marko Pokleka were the inaugural recipients of this award. Ocepek achieved a national team bronze in the Nations Golden League, a win in the Golden Euroleague with Robust, a silver medal at the European Championships, and a sixth-place finish at the Paravolley World Cup in Egypt.

Marko Pokleka, renowned for his resilience and energy, won a bronze medal with the Slovenian national team in the Silver Nations League in 2023, competed at the European Championships in Division A, and had a successful club season, finishing sixth in the Euroleague with Sempeter and winning the national championship title.

For their outstanding leadership, Bruno Najdic and Radovan Gacic were named as the best coaches of the women’s and men’s teams, respectively, by the Expert Council of the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia.