Slovenian first division season concludes with titles for OTP banka Branik and ACH Volley

The 2025/2026 season of the Slovenian Sportklub First Volleyball League has officially concluded, marking the end of the national championship for both women’s and men’s top divisions. The competition commenced this past October 11 for the eight participating women’s teams and a week later for the men, culminating this week with the final matches.

Both competitions this season were conducted under a triple round-robin system, followed by the playoff phase. In the women’s championship, OTP banka Branik MARIBOR and Calcit Volley progressed to the final series, while AFM Volley and GEN-I Volley competed for the bronze medal. OTP banka Branik, the defending champions, confirmed their dominance by finishing the regular season at the top of the standings with only two defeats. They carried this form into the playoffs, securing a place in the final, where they faced long-standing rivals Calcit Volley. 

The opening two matches of the series were closely contested, both decided in tie-break sets in favour of OTP banka Branik. The Slovenian Cup winners had their first championship point already in the third match and successfully converted it in front of their home crowd. Slovenia thus crowned its reigning champions once again, as OTP banka Branik lifted the national trophy for the second consecutive year with a 3-0 win (25-13, 25-20, 25-22) in the decisive match against Calcit Volley. In the bronze medal series, GEN-I Volley NOVA GORICA ultimately prevailed over AFM Volley. After taking the opening match, GEN-I Volley saw AFM Volley respond in front of their home crowd to level the series. The decisive third match went in favour of the GEN-I Volley, who claimed a 3-1 win (25-15, 16-25, 25-16, 25-12) to secure third place, adding it to their runner-up finish in the Slovenian Cup competition.

The men’s competition delivered similarly competitive matches, particularly in the bronze medal series between this year’s Slovenian Cup runners-up Panvita Pomgrad and MOK Krka. After an opening win for MOK Krka, Panvita Pomgrad responded with a five-set victory away from home to force a decider. In the final match of the series, Panvita Pomgrad completed a comeback from two sets down to win 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-20, 17-15) and secure third place. The men’s title was once again claimed by ACH Volley LJUBLJANA, who extended their remarkable record by winning their fifth consecutive championship and 22nd overall title. The Ljubljana side remained undefeated throughout the season. After facing Alpacem Kanal in last year’s final, ACH Volley met Calcit Volley in this year’s championship series. The reigning champions asserted their superiority with two straight-set victories in the opening matches. Although Calcit Volley took the first set in the third match, ACH Volley responded decisively to seal the title with a 3-1 win (26-28, 25-18, 25-14, 25-18).

Looking ahead, the Slovenian top-tier competition will be restructured into a renewed Superliga format for the 2026/2027 season, featuring ten teams in both the women’s and men’s divisions. The new format is expected to further enhance the level of competition and provide additional high-quality matches for Volleyball audiences.

Pictures courtesy of Aleš Oblak