The League Round of the MEVZA League will continue on Wednesday night, when Final Four tournament hosts Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL (AUT) will face defending champions ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (SLO) and bottom of the table UVC Holding GRAZ (AUT) will lock horns with OK Calcit KAMNIK (SLO).
The ‘Nordmänner’ go into the clash with the ‘Orange Dragons’ as the clear underdogs. In the first matchup this season three months ago, ACH Volley LJUBLJANA claimed a quite compelling straight-set victory on home soil. The CEV Champions League competitors are currently sitting in second place on a 6-2 win-loss record, while URW have nine points out of the eight matches they have played up until now.
PHOTO © Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL
“We are currently working hard on our serve and on mental strength to be able to withstand the pressure we know is going to come from ACH Volley. They will do their best to take maximum points for the standing. That is the only way for them to keep the pressure high on table leaders OK Merkur MARIBOR”, URW’s sports director Werner Hahn said.
Bottom of the table GRAZ to host KAMNIK
MEVZA League rookies UVC Holding GRAZ have not been able to collect a single point from the seven matches they have contested so far. On Wednesday, the team from Styria will try its best to end the losing streak with a home win over fourth-placed OK Calcit KAMNIK.
“Our opponents are a very experienced team with good quality. Opposite Mitja Gasparini has played for many top teams in his career and, above all, he reached the grand finale at the CEV EuroVolley 2019 with Slovenia’s national team. We know that we will have to deliver an outstanding performance to challenge them. On the other hand, I know my team is able to do so and therefore, I am sure that we have what it takes to secure our very first points in the competition on Wednesday,” UVC Holding Graz head coach Robert Koch explains.
Calcit Volley have a 4-3 win-loss record in the competition this far. The fifth victory this MEVZA League season would take the Slovenian side to the third place in the table, leapfrogging Austria’s SK Zadruga AICH/DOB.
MEVZA League main round
13.01., 19:00: UVC Holding GRAZ (AUT) vs OK Calcit KAMNIK (SLO)
13.01., 19:00: Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL (AUT) vs ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (SLO)
results, match stats, schedule and standing
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