Calcit Kamnik down Aich/Dob and take first step towards Mevza League Final!

After yesterday’s game between Ok Markur Maribor and competition’s leaders ACH Volley Ljubljana, today Calcit Kamnik take fist step towards 2022/23 MEVZA League final after a 3-1 (22:25, 22:25, 25:17, 24:26) win on the field of Austria’s SK Zadruga Aich/Dob.
The second leg will be played next Wednesday, March 1, at 8 p.m. in Kamnik.

These two sides have already met three times this season, and all three matches were won by the Slovenian runners-up, two of them at tie break.
Today, although the Austrians led 6-2 at the beginning of the opening set, the rivals leveled the score at 6-6, and Daniel Aponza put down the ball of 7-9. With a kill block by Zlatan Jordanov, the hosts equalized the score again 12-12 but, after two consecutive attacks by Tomislav Mitrašinović, Kamnik regained a two-point lead (15-17). Even after a half-minute break asked by head coach Zoran Kedacic, the Slovenians continued to led the game, and Luis Sosa Sierra (top scorer of the match with 20 points through 56% in attack) scored the attack of 16-19 and, after a direct error by Aich/Dob, they closed the set 22-25.

In the second set, the first to reach two points lead were again Aich/Dob, who took the lead 8-6 scoring three points in a row, the last scored by Stefan Kaibald (top scorer among the hosts with 18 points at the end of the match) forcing head coach Jurij Žavbi to stop the game. A great Sosa Sierra tied the score already at 8-8, and Jan Klobučar signed the surpass, putting down the ball of 11-12, which did not last long, because an error by Kamnik and an ace from Jurij Krožukov, forced coach Žavbi to ask again a time out. Aich/Dob tried to escape with three points lead, 18-15, but the rivals equalized at 18-18 with Luka Lazar from the service line, and took the lead again 19-20 with Uroš Planinšič’s ace. After a time out, with the block of Pavlović, Kamnik gained a 20-22 lead, which was enough for 0-2 in the sets count after an error by the home team, 22-25 again.

In the third set, again, the hosts had a better start and, after Alpar Szabo’s block and Kaibald’s attack took the lead, 11-7. Nothing to do for Kamnik, with several lacks in concentration and lot of error, and Aich/Dob scored the +5, 8-13. With Lampros Pitakoudis’ block, they also led 17-11. It was Kamničanov’s error that marked the final 25-15.

The problems of the team from Slovenia continued also at the very beginning of the fourth set, as the home team took a 4-1 lead. But this time they managed to react, and a Pavlović’s block, signed the 9-8. His ace finally leveled the score, 12-12, while Jure Okroglič put down the ball of 13:12. The set continued in a very balanced way, with Kamnik who earned two match balls with Aponze’s block. Both were canceled by the rivals, but not the third, as Kožukov’s attack marked the end of set and game, 24-26.

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🏐| 2022/23 MEVZA LEAGUE – Semifinals | First Leg

| Tuesday | February 22, 2023
• 19.30 (Local Time) | OK Merkur Maribor (SLO) (4) – ACH Volley Ljubljana (SLO) (1) 1-3 (20:25, 25:21, 15:25, 20:25)

👉🏼 Wednesday | February 23, 2023
• 18.00 (Local Time) | SK Zadruga Aich/Dob (AUT) (3) – Calcit Kamnik (SLO) (2) 1-3 (22:25, 22:25, 25:17, 24:26)