13/03/2016 00:36
Seventh MEVZA title for ACH Volley!
News from the Zonal Associations
Ljubljana, Slovenia, March 12, 2016. On Saturday night ACH Volley LJUBLJANA claimed their seventh title in the men’s MEVZA Cup, formerly known as Middle European League. In the final act of the Final Four held at Tivoli sports hall in Slovenia’s capital, ACH Volley LJUBLJANA subdued defending champions and regular season’s winners Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK of Austria 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19). The Austrians suffered their one and only setback in this year’s MEVZA Cup right in the final, title-deciding match.
“I am thunderstruck. I cannot find the right words to describe my feelings. An enormous praise to my players, including those who did not play tonight,” ACH Volley head coach Zoran Kedacic said.
On the other hand, the coach of Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK Daniel Gavan was evidently disappointed: “We certainly played much better than we did in yesterday’s semi-final. However, tonight we were again not able to show our best performance. We had continuous problems in reception and if you play like we did, you cannot win any final.”
Slovenia’s Calcit KAMNIK finished their MEVZA Cup campaign in third place. After fighting for more than two hours, the hosts of the Final Four tournament edged Posojilnica AICH/DOB (AUT) 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11). This was their first Final Four appearance since the establishment of the MEVZA Cup / Middle European League. AICH/DOB claimed a one-set lead twice in the match but after losing the third one, the Slovenians took command of the game edging their rivals especially at spiking and blocking.
Toncek Stern, top scorer for Calcit KAMNIK with 25 points, said: “In the early stages of the match we made a lot of errors – especially in service. But after a switch by our head coach Marko Brumen we could perform much better!”
Martin Micheu, Sports Director of Posojilnica AICH/DOB, commented: “I am extremely disappointed. After leading 2-1 in sets we just stopped playing. Our performance in reception was very weak. Approaching this weekend we expected much more than we got in the end. Now we have to be focussed on the Austrian national league.”
Final standing
1. ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (SLO)
2. Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK (AUT)
3. Calcit KAMNIK (SLO)
4. Posojilnica AICH/DOB (AUT)
For further information visit www.mevza.org
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