EuroVolley silver medal winners Slovenia ready for second VNL adventure
News
The Slovenian men’s national team is ready for their second Volleyball Nations League appearance. Last year’s rookies surprised their opponents with high-level Volleyball and in the end, just missed out on a medal by claiming fourth place. The EuroVolley 2021 silver medal winners will start the 2022 VNL edition with a clash against USA in Brasilia on Tuesday, June 7.
Last year’s VNL ‘bubble tournament’ in Rimini was the first time Slovenia joined the top teams in the world in this competition. Before that, they emerged on top from the FIVB World League Groups 3 and 2 before winning the FIVB Challenger Cup in 2019.
The Slovenians have high goals and ambitions for this year’s VNL as well. Although the team did not travel to Brazil with the standard line-up as Tine Urnaut, Dejan Vinčić, Klemen Čebulj, and Alen Šket are missing, new Slovenian head coach Marek Lebedew says,
“Despite some changes, this is a very good team. The boys have proved this on several occasions over the years. We have some very experienced players who have played in the biggest competitions and achieved outstanding results. Not all of them are with us, but we can also rely on our youngsters, who have proved themselves in the preparatory matches. At the same time, our national team has a strong team spirit that we can always rely on.”
The Slovenians will start their VNL campaign on June 7 with a showdown against the USA, followed by matches against Brazil, Australia, and China. “We are aware that we are about to start a tournament in a way that we are not very used to. We are not sure which players other national teams will be playing with. The Americans have changed their line-up quite a lot after the Olympics and some of their best players are missing. The Brazilians will also field some new players that we do not know yet. But no matter what, the most important thing will be on what level our game will be at and how quickly and how well we will be able to adapt to our opponents,” Lebedew added.
One of the most experienced players in the Slovenian line-up is Gregor Ropret, a setter who played very well in last year’s VNL and at EuroVolley too, where the Slovenians won their third silver medal over the last four editions. “Last year was the first time we got to know the Nations League and see how it all works. Despite this, we managed to achieve a top result. This year things will probably be harder for us. It is always easier to attack than to defend but our goals remain high. We have to fight for every win because there are also World Ranking points at stake and a better position in the Olympic qualification. Our first goal must therefore be to qualify for the final tournament. I am happy that the Nations League is starting.”
Črtomir Bošnjak, one of the debutants who will be waiting for their chance to prove themselves, will wear the Slovenian uniform for the first time in an official match:
“I am very happy to be part of the national team. I want us to achieve a good result. I think that we prepared well for the challenge. We worked hard and I am confident that we can even build on last year’s result.”
Team Slovenia includes the following players: Gregor Ropret and Uroš Planinšič (setters), Tonček Štern and Mitja Gasparini (opposites), Alen Pajenk, Jan Kozamernik, Danijel Koncilja, and Matic Videčnik (middle blockers), Rok Možič, Žiga Štern, Jan Klobučar, and Črtomir Bošnjak (outside hitters), Jani Kovačič and Alan Košenina (liberos). Head coach: Mark Lebedew.