In the 2020-2021 edition of the MEVZA League, HAOK Mladost ZAGREB (CRO) suffered a 1-3 (19-25, 25-20, 26-28, 18-25) home loss at the hands of OK Calcit KAMNIK (SLO) on Wednesday night. As a result, the Slovenian side moved up to third place in the current standing on 16 points, leapfrogging SK Zadruga AICH/DOB (AUT). Austria’s heavyweight and Calcit Volley are competing for a spot at the Final Four tournament. Mladost, on the other hand, have had to cope with another setback. Davor Meringer’s squad remains at three points now on a 1-4 win-loss record.
PHOTO © HAOK Mladost ZAGREB
“Congratulations to my players but also to our opponents. Mladost did a good job. Therefore, it was not an easy win today. We delivered a strong performance, especially in defense”, Calcit Volley head coach Gregor Jeroncic explained.
“Despite losing the match, we played much better than we did last week at MARIBOR and at AICH/DOB”, Mladost’s Josip Vojak (six points) said and his coach Davor Meringer added: “Currently Calcit Volley are a very compact team, much more than we are. They were decisively better in defense today!”
Mitja Gasparini and Jan Klobucar top scored for the winning side with 20 and 17 points, respectively, while Sandro Dukic hammered 16 including five blocks for Mladost. Match stats: attack 46% vs 47%, winning blocks 11 vs 10, aces 2 vs 5 and opponent errors 33 vs 28.
PHOTO © HAOK Mladost ZAGREB
The main round of the competition will continue on Saturday, when Mladost ZAGREB will clash with Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL (AUT) and SK Zadruga AICH/DOB will be facing OK MERKUR MARIBOR (SLO).The table leaders are already qualified for the Final Four tournament, while their closest pursuers and the defending champions ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (SLO) are just a small step away from reaching this season’s climax that will be hosted by Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL. As organisers, The ‘Nordmänner’ have also secured their participation in the grand finale, scheduled for February 27 and 28 at the Zwettl sports hall.
MEVZA League main round
27.01.: HAOK Mladost ZAGREB (CRO) vs. OK Calcit KAMNIK (SLO) 1-3 (19-25, 25-20, 26-28, 18-25)
30.01., 17:00: HAOK Mladost Zagreb (CRO) vs. Union Raiffeisen Waldviertel (AUT)
30.01., 19:00: SK Zadruga Aich/Dob (AUT) vs. OK MERKUR Maribor (SLO)
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