Bratislava, Slovakia. This past weekend the women’s teams of Slávia EU BRATISLAVA and VK NOVÉ MESTO NAD VÁHOM made history each in their own way as they contested the final match of the Slovak national cup. Slávia EU triumphed for a record 15th time while NOVÉ MESTO secured their first medal in domestic competitions despite suffering a straight-set loss (24-26, 23-25, 17-25).
The final stage of the national cup competition took place in the city of Nitra for the first time in five years. Since last year, the trophy carries the name of legendary player Štefan Pipa, captain of CEV Champions Cup winner CH Bratislava in 1979 and a member of the Slovakian Hall of Fame who passed away in September of 2019.
The participation of NOVÉ MESTO in the Super Finals was a little surprise. In two huge battles of the semi-final round, they found ways to overcome Volley project UKF NITRA (they lost 2-3 away, but won 3-2 at home) by only two points overall (217 to 215).
In the final, the favourites from the capital city started without two players of their usual line-up and their opponents fought for their chances. NOVÉ MESTO claimed an advantage at 23-20 and 24-23 in the first set, but Slávia EU managed to emerge victorious in the end. In the second set, Slávia EU claimed a seven-point difference (16-9), then NOVÉ MESTO caught up (21-21), but Slávia EU snatched another set and dominated the rest of the match.
Despite the loss, newcomers VK NOVÉ MESTO NAD VÁHOM were still happy with their first ever medal in domestic competitions
The award for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) went to Zuzana Šepe?ová, a 182-cm-tall outside hitter and captain of Slávia EU, who scored 17 points and as many as six blocks in the final.
Michal Matušov, head coach of Slávia EU: “We were not in full force, but the girls managed to cope with the situation and fought for the others, and I thank them for that. I am sorry that several girls could not be here, but that is the result of the pandemic and we must live with it. I would love for them to enjoy such a match, even though, compared to last year when there were thousands of spectators in the hall and a fantastic atmosphere, we feel that today everything is marked by the virus.”
Michaela Štepanovská, outside hitter of Nové Mesto: “Making it to the finals was a great success for us. The first two sets could have ended better for us, especially in the first set when we had a very good position in the end; but it did not work out. Now it all hurts a little, but we will definitely see it as a great success over time.”
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CEV – European Volleyball
SVF – Slovakian Volleyball Federation
