Merkur Maribor end ACH Volley Ljubljana’s 16-Year dominance & claim first title since the 1992-93 season

Maribor, Slovenia. Merkur Maribor are Slovenia’s champions for the first time since 1992-93. The team led by Sebastijan Škorc ended 16 years of dominance by ACH Volley Ljubljana as they claimed the third title in their club’s history. 

Serial Slovenian champions ACH Volley Ljubljana, who have no less than seventeen titles to their name, started the final series with a 2-0 lead against Merkur Maribor, who had topped the ranking at the end of the Regular Season. Merkur Maribor struck back and won the championship by closing the final series in the fifth set of the fifth game.

Merkur Maribor celebrate their title in Slovenia

“We built this club and team practically from zero. Only those who were with us know, what our team went through in this final series and throughout the whole season. We had a really young team with only one experienced player, Alen Šket, who was like a father to the others. The team was growing from practice to practice, we worked extremely hard and in the end, we looked solid and experienced. Our players played for those who couldn’t help us in the finals and really gave even more than they were capable of giving to bring this title to Maribor. We will host the CEV Champions League next year for the first time in history, which is unbelievable,” the head coach of Merkur Maribor Sebastijan Skorc commented.

“I really don’t know what to say. The tears of joy show it all. It’s just unbelievable what we achieved. This is an incredible team, with an incredible heart. I am sure that we will hear many times more about this story of success. I think that claiming this title is the very best way for me to say goodbye to my club,” said the best scorer of the finals, 19-year-old Rok Možic, who intends to continue his career abroad.

“We had a 2-0 lead in our hands and a good opportunity to end the final series after three matches. We didn’t take advantage of that, the series was prolonged to the decisive fifth match. We were in a good position in the fifth set, but Maribor bounced back and all I can say is that their win is well deserved. Congratulations to Maribor,” said ACH Volley Ljubljana head coach Matija Pleško.

The best Slovenian men’s teams will conclude the season with a cup competition which will begin tomorrow with eighth-finals matches in Ljubljana. The women’s cup final was cancelled due to national team preparations for the 2021 CEV EuroVolley qualifiers.

News:
OZS – Volleyball Federation of Slovenia
CEV – European Volleyball
FIVB – Volleyball World