Slovenia through to #EuroLeagueW Final with immaculate record

Slovenia will contest the #EuroLeagueW final with Sweden – as the side coached by Alessandro Orefice beat Slovakia 3-0 on home soil as well (25-15, 25-17, 29-27) to keep their perfect record in the competition, where they are yet to concede a single set. Maša Pucelj and Fatoumatta Sillah were the top scorers for the home side on Wednesday night with 14 points apiece. The competition will resume next week with the final contested in home and away matches – first in Sweden and subsequently in Slovenia. 

Lorena Lorber Fijok, player of Slovenia: “Once again, we found ourselves in a rather uncomfortable situation. The important thing is that we came together as a team and showed enough focus and character. In the end, we gathered enough energy to achieve the desired result. The final is knocking on the door, or rather, it is already here. Our minds are already on it; we want more than just to win this European League. I am satisfied with the victory, but we can definitely still improve our level, and we must improve it, and we will improve it in the coming days.” 

Emi Jurič, libero of Team Slovenia: “It was definitely always our goal to reach the final, and we are finally there. I am very proud of that. We know that we let our guard down in every match, especially after the second set. But I think that this is precisely the charm of our team – that even in difficult moments, we know how to come together, trust each other, and stay calm during those tough times.” 

“I am very happy with the intensity that this team keeps on showing, especially as every opponent pushes harder and harder against us. It is now that easy to keep that same rhythm – we were able to do so for two sets, but after that Slovakia pushed back. Therefore, I am very satisfied with the result. Congratulations to the players and also to the coaching staff for the good job we did tactically at the end of the third set – I am happy but we certainly want more,” said head coach Alessandro Orefice. 

Slovenia and Sweden had finished atop the charts of the League Round and will now lock horns in the final. They both are yet to lose a single match. Together with the other semi-finalists – Hungary and Slovakia – they have also already qualified for the CEV EuroVolley 2028.