13/02/2017 14:50
Slavia EU BRATISLAVA and Mirad PU PREŠOV retain Slovakian Cup crowns
News from the National Federations
Stara Lubovna, Slovakia, February 13, 2017. Slavia EU BRATISLAVA and Mirad PU PREŠOV emerged victorious from the nineteenth edition of the Slovakian women’s and men’s national cup, respectively. These two teams retained the titles they won in 2016 at the end of the Final Four tournament held this past weekend in the city of Stara Lubovna.
Slavia EU BRATISLAVA celebrated their third straight national cup title – and thirteenth overall. The team coached by Michal Matusov further extended their winning streak in domestic competitions to 58 matches (54 in the national league and four in the Slovakian Cup). The last time the reigning champions lost on home soil dates back to April 11, 2015. Slavia beat KV MŠK Oktan KEŽMAROK 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 32-30) in the semi-finals and after that, they rallied to a 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-14, 25-15) as well against Volley project UKF NITRA. “We are happy and satisfied. Our players remained concentrated from start to end. It is my first trophy as head coach and it means a lot to me. We have a very good team with experienced and young players and we are looking forward to achieving our next goals this season,” said Matusov. Volley project had previously beaten 1.BVK BRATISLAVA in the semis 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-15), but did not stand a chance in the gold medal match. “Slavia was better and deserved the cup. On the other hand, we are happy, because we advanced to the finals of the cup for the first time and it is the biggest achievement in history for our club,” added the head coach of Volley project Martin Rasner. Terezia Widerman (Slavia EU) and Jana Tuzinska (Volley project) received the awards for the best players of the finals.
In the men’s competition, Mirad PU PREŠOV claimed their second straight and third title overall. The team from eastern Slovakia first edged VK PRIEVIDZA at the end of five dramatic sets in the semis (25-16, 21-25, 25-17, 17-25, 15-12) before cruising past the current leaders of the Slovakian national league, VKP Bystrina NITRA 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-22) in the gold medal match. NITRA had previously beaten VK Spartak UJS KOMARNO in the semis 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 27-25). “I am very pleased, because I came back to Presov before the start of the current season and after twelve years we could seize this title again,” said head coach Jaroslav Vlk, who was at the helm of the team when they first took the crown back in 2005. “We started out slowly, but after the first set our team found the rhythm and we played very well,” he added. As for NITRA, this team suffered only their second loss since the beginning of the 2016-2017 season – and again to PREŠOV. “We need to regroup, because we haven’t been playing well for the last two weeks. We are disappointed, but it was a very good match,” said the head coach of NITRA, Marek Kardos. Marcel Lux (Mirad PU PREŠOV) and Igor Rehak (VKP Bystrina NITRA) were the best players of the finals.
The President of the Slovak Volleyball Federation, Mr Lubor Halanda, was pleased with the organisation of the national cup finals. “The organisation was very good and we are satisfied. We found very good facilities in Stara Lubovna. We want to thank the local club VKM Stara Lubovna and the city authorities for helping us organise such a great event. We witnessed very good and exciting matches and I congratulate the eventual winners,” Halanda said.
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