Slovenia’s BVC Ludus triumph on home sand to punch ticket to Montpellier

Earlier this month, the second edition of Slovenia’s national championship for men’s Beach Volleyball clubs was held at the Ludus Sports Park in the country’s capital, Ljubljana, with participation of three clubs – BVC Ludus, Moderna Volleyball Club, and BVC Kostanjevica. Due to an insufficient number of registered teams, the women’s competition was cancelled altogether (only BVC Ludus, winners of last year’s inaugural CEV Beach Volley European Cup, had signed up for participation). 

The players of BVC Ludus (Renko/Zemljak, Pokeršnik, D./Pribanić), coached by Tine Sattler, lived up to their role as favourites with convincing victories and some spectacular plays, especially with Danijel Pokeršnik excelling in blocking. They claimed first place in the tournament and will therefore represent Slovenia in the CEV Beach Volley European Cup 2024 scheduled for early October in Montpellier, France. The experience and individual qualities of Nejc Zemljak, Danijel Pokeršnik, Josip Pribanić, and David Renko will certainly be a strong asset on the European stage as well. 
 
The matchup between BVC Kostanjevica and Moderna Volleyball Club was more intense, with the winner being decided by a golden set. The Kostanjevica Team 1 (Jevšnik/Gašpar) convincingly won the first match against Moderna 1 (Mugerli/Radovanović), and it seemed that the battle between Kostanjevica 2 (Mohar/Štefanič) and Moderna 2 (Travnik/Sirnik) would be decided in favour of Kostanjevica too. However, in the third set, Mohor Travnik took centre stage, thereby securing a 1-1 tie in matches. 

The golden set then determined the eventual winner, with coach Miha Plot rearranging the pairs and sending the young Benjamin Mugerli to compete alongside the in-form Travnik. This combination proved successful, and despite a strong performance by Jevšnik and Gašpar, the golden set ended 15-12 in favour of Moderna Volleyball Club. This result secured second place in the tournament for the club. 

In the third round between BVC Ludus and BVC Kostanjevica, only one match was played between Ludus 1 (Renko/Zemljak) and Kostanjevica 1 (Jevšnik/Gašpar), as the Kostanjevica 2 team had to forfeit due to Štefanič's injury. In windy conditions before an approaching storm, Zemljak and Renko won the final match of the tournament 2-0, thereby confirming BVC Ludus’s first-place finish. 

Final standing 

1.    BVC Ludus 
2.    Moderna Volleyball Club 
3.    BVC Kostanjevica