MEVZA League: Union WALDVIERTEL upset favourites AICH/DOB in Austrian derby

Photo Credit: Raiffeisen Waldviertel Volleyball Team

In the MEVZA League, last season’s bronze medallists Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL celebrated on Saturday night an impressive away win at their toughest national opponents in recent years, SK Zadruga AICH/DOB. The ‘Nordmänner’ came from one set down to emerge victorious from the Austrian derby (17-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21). Therefore, they moved up to third place in the current standing on three points. On the other hand, AICH/DOB had to cope with a surprising setback after the young and newly arranged team had performed well at their CEV Champions League home tournament earlier this month.

“I am very disappointed, but we really deserved to lose today. Although three of our players were out due to injuries, such a poor performance should not happen to us. We played above our level in the Champions League clashes with Dinamo MOSCOW and Neftochimik BURGAS but now we have to face reality. There is a lot of work to do,” Martin Micheu, Sports Manager of SK Zadruga AICH/DOB said after the four-set defeat in their MEVZA League season opener.

Topscorers: Konrad FORMELA (18), Max LANDFAHRER (16); Marek ŠULC (16), Artur VINCELOVIC (12).
Match Stats: total points 86 vs 92, spikes 49 vs 48, aces 4 vs 6, blocks 9 vs 11 and opponent errors 24 vs 27.

ACH Volley defeat Calcit Volley in Slovenian encounter

Photo Credit: ACH Volley

Defending champions and table leaders ACH Volley Ljubljana have won all of their four MEVZA League matches they have contested so far. However on Saturday night, the ‘Orange Dragons’ had to battle very hard to beat their Slovenian rivals OK Calcit Volley KAMNIK 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 27-25) on home soil. As a result, ACH Volley extended their winning streak to four matches in a row to top the charts on twelve points, five ahead of OK Merkur MARIBOR.

Topscorers: Matej KÖK (21), Božidar VUCICEVIC (14); Mitja GASPARINI (22), Gal KOS (12).
Match Stats: total points 95 vs 93, spikes 46 vs 38, aces 11 vs 10, blocks 10 vs 10 and opponent errors 28 vs 35.

OK MARIBOR celebrate another away win at rookies UVC Graz

Photo Credit: GEPA Pictures

Also on Saturday, MEVZA League rookies UVC Holding GRAZ had to accept a 1-3 (24-26, 21-25, 25-23, 18-25) home loss at the hands of OK MARIBOR. Therefore the Styrian team is currently sitting at the bottom of the table with a 0-2 win-loss record, while the second-placed Slovenian side increased their points to seven out of four matches.

UVC Holding GRAZ top scorer Johannes Kratz was “satisfied with the performance we delivered today, but needless to say we are not satisfied with the result at all. Despite the result, we hone our skills step by step and I am confident that we will win one or the other MEVZA League match this season.”

OK Merkur MARIBOR coach Sebastijan Skorc was pleased with the three points, because “it was not an easy win, the hosts played really well”. Questioned about this season’s goal: “We want absolutely to qualify for the Final four tournament. Therefore every point counts!”

Topscorer: Johannes KRATZ (16), David REITER (13); Ahmed IKHBAYRI (20), Rok MOŽIC (18).
Match Stats: total points 88 vs 99, spikes 42 vs 50, aces 3:1, blocks 8 vs 12 and opponent errors 35 vs 36.

MEVZA League main round

17.10.: SK Zadruga AICH/DOB (AUT) vs. Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL (AUT) 1-3 (25-17, 23-25, 17-25 21-25)
17.10.: UVC Holding GRAZ (AUT) vs. OK Merkur MARIBOR (SLO) 1-3 (24-26, 21-25, 25-23, 18-25)
17.10.: OK ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (SLO) vs. OK Calcit Volley KAMNIK (SLO) 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 27-25)

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