Zadar, Croatia. The 2020 edition of the Croatian Volleyball championship for cadets took place this past weekend in Zadar, with as many as 27 clubs competing at the Višnjik and Mocire arenas. ŽOK Osijek (pictured) claimed the title after edging HAOK Mladost 3-2 (12-25, 25-20, 26-24, 16-25, 16-14) at the end of a tense final. No spectators could follow the matches from the stands in strict compliance with the measures in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“This was a really nice final. Playing with Mladost is always a great honour. This time, the match ended in our favour. Maybe when I sit down and watch the game again, I will know what we did well. Somehow, we expected to meet the team from Split, but I am very happy that we represented our region of Slavonija and showed that there are good volleyball players there too!” said the coach of ŽOK Osijek Dario Fancovic after the game.
On the way to the finals, Osijek defeated the teams of OK Pula, OK ?akovo, OK Neba, OK Kaštela and HAOK Rijeka CO. The final match with Mladost was uncertain until the very end, and the players from Osijek showed much fighting spirit and deservedly took the victory. “We claimed the first place, we fought until the very end, and we did not give in to our opponents at all. I am overjoyed and proud of my team!” said after the game the captain of ŽOK Osijek, Rea Rajndl.
The third place went to the team of OK Split, following their 3-1 victory over HAOK Rijeka CO (25-12, 20-25, 25-19, 25-18).
Special mention should go to the OK Umag player Ema Stikic, who received the fair play award. In the match with Rijeka, after a dubious situation that decided the winner, Ema admitted that she was the last to touch the net. With that, the Rijeka team won and reached the semi-finals, and Ema showed the sort of fair play and behaviour that belong only to great sportspeople.
Andrea Mihaljevic of HAOK Mladost received the award for the Most Valuable Player of the competition held in Zadar
Individual awards
MVP: Andrea Mihaljevic (HAOK Mladost)
Best Blocker: Veronika Budimir (HAOK Mladost)
Best Setter: Rea Rajndl (ŽOK Osijek)
Best Spiker: Karla Kolobaric (ŽOK Osijek)
Best Libero: Nika Županic (ŽOK Osijek)
Best Receiver: Ana Burilovic (OK Split)
Sources:
CEV – European Volleyball
HOS – Croatian Volleyball Federation
