Mladost ZAGREB (W) reach CEV Cup 8th Finals

Zagreb, Croatia. On Wednesday and Thursday, the women’s team of Mladost ZAGREB played two consecutive matches with PVK Olymp PRAHA of the Czech Republic scheduled for the 16th Finals of the CEV Volleyball Cup 2021. The hosts claimed a 3-0 victory (25-21, 25-14, 25-15) on Wednesday and the re-match ended in a 3-1 success for the hosts (25-16, 23-25, 25-17, 29-27) for Mladost to seal a spot in the next round of the competition. 

Wednesday’s fixture was the first international match this season for Mladost ZAGREB after a number of coronavirus cases had disrupted the start of their campaign. Both matches took place in Zagreb after the Czech team had requested for such an arrangement – due to restrictions in place in their home country because of the pandemic. 

The match played on Wednesday was somehow special for Mladost head coach Leonard Baric, who has returned to Zagreb and Mladost after previously coaching their men’s team. His current assistant Darko Nojic previously played under his guidance for Mladost as well. As Dinka Kulic top scored for the home side with 21 points, 20-year-old libero Izabela Stimac made her debut in CEV competitions. 

Some 24 hours later, Stimac celebrated her birthday with a 3-1 victory from the re-match with PVK Olymp PRAHA and a ticket to the next round of the competition – quite an achievement for such a young, yet promising Croatian team. 

The men’s team of Mladost was less successful as they lost their home fixture with MONTPELLIER Castelnau UC of France 1-3 (19-25, 25-22, 25-27, 15-25). This was the first European fixture for Mladost this season as they previously had to withdraw from the 1st Round of the CEV Champions League back in September after registering some coronavirus cases inside the team. This was the European Cup debut for Mladost head coach Davor Meringer – but unfortunately, not a successful one. The re-match in Montpellier will be taking place on November 18, 2020. 

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News:
CEV – European Volleyball
HOS – Croatian Volleyball Federation