Women’s MEVZA League - Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR move up to third place
News
Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR cruised to an impressive home win in the women’s MEVZA League, needing just 56 minutes to defeat underdogs OK Marina KAŠTELA of Croatia 3-0 (25-10, 25-7, 25-12) on Wednesday night.
As a result, the Slovenian team has moved up to third in the current standing on 12 points from a 4-4 win-loss record. Therefore, Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR are still with a chance to qualify for the Final Four tournament scheduled for later this month in Vienna. While the unbeaten table leaders OK Calcit KAMNIK as well as second-placed Vasas Óbuda BUDAPEST and hosts VB NÖ Sokol/Post are already confirmed participants in this season’s climax, besides Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR, only HAOK Mladost ZAGREB are still in the race for the last Final Four spot. Both sides have two more matches to play in the regular season.
In the men’s competition, HAOK Mladost ZAGREB recorded their third comprehensive win in a row. The Croatian reigning national champions left no chance to VKP BRATISLAVA, winning 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-21) against the last-ranked team from the zonal competition. As OK Calcit KAMNIK celebrated a hard-fought 3-2 (24-26, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11) away win at Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL later in evening, HAOK Mladost ZAGREB are now one point ahead of their Slovenian rivals in the battle for the last ticket to the Final Four tournament.
In the third men’s MEVZA League match played on Wednesday, second-placed OK Merkur MARIBOR suffered a 2-3 (25-18, 21-25, 25-18, 20-25, 6-15) loss at the hands of Final Four tournament hosts SK Zadruga AICH/DOB.
Sebastijan Skorc“After claiming a 2-1 lead, our game went into a slump. I could attribute this to the problems we have with the team composition even in training due to illnesses, quarantines and injuries, but this should not be an excuse. We definitely need to play better.”
Head coach of OK Merkur MARIBOR