After additional victory in Austria, ACH Volley BLED tops standings of Middle European League

News from the Zonal Associations

Vienna, Austria, February 7, 2010. A couple of games were staged this week for the Men’s Middle European League. Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK stays unbeaten against the Austrian archrivals, beating once again the hotVolleys VIENNA in three sets on Friday. ACH Volley BLED of Slovenia tops the standings after having cruised to another victory on Saturday against Posojilnica AICH/DOB.
Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK celebrated a 3:0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-23) victory against the hotVolleys VIENNA in their game for the 16th round on Friday. The Tyroleans have bagged all of their MEL games against their compatriots this season; that is a very important feat since this performance counts also for determining the seeding for the Austrian Playoffs. The hotVolleys VIENNA are seeded third now behind AICH/DOB that now holds home court advantage for the Austrian semifinals. The hotVolleys fought hard for long stretches in all sets, and couldn’t convert a set ball in the first. The self-confidence of the Tyroleans prevailed in the deciding rallies. The third set was especially very close. The home team held a four-point advantage, but the hotVolleys came back to a one point deficit. As in the other sets the defending champion had all the right answers again and finally swept their archrivals. ”It wasn’t the best duel ever between these two teams. At the end of the sets we always had the right momentum on our side. The first one was really close and we had to defend one set ball. I think that was the turning point”, said Hypo Tirol assistant coach Gernot Hupfauf.
Posojilnica AICH/DOB suffered a 1:3 (25-27, 27-25, 17-25, 21-25) loss against ACH Volley BLED on Saturday. Even the record breaking crowd of 1’000 spectators in Prevalje could not help the home team in seizing the night. AICH/DOB performed very well in the first two sets, but after BLED tied the count, the match turned into an easy task for the guests. The Slovenians took advantage from the offensive mishaps of the home team and got a deserved win in the end. The Slovenians climbed to the top of the standings but are only one point ahead of Hypo Tirol that has played one game less. AICH/DOB manager Martin Micheu appreciated some improvements in comparison with the previous games, but he wasn’t happy at all: “We played better than we recently did, but our attack was really bad. 37 % of efficiency isn’t enough. Our attackers lacked of confidence. We have to solve this problem until Thursday, as we play the return game against Belgium’s Euphony ASSE-LENNIK in the GM Capital Challenge Cup, and also for the Austrian Playoffs”.

Results
Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK (AUT) vs. hotVolleys VIENNA (AUT) 3:0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-23)
Posojilnica AICH/DOB (AUT) vs. ACH Volley BLED (SLO) 1:3 (25-27, 27-25, 17-25, 21-25)

Three games of the 16th round were scheduled on Saturday for the Women’s Middle European League. ZOK RIJEKA (CRO) took over the leadership in the standings with a 3:0 victory against Doprastav BRATISLAVA of Slovakia. Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR celebrated a close 3:2 win against ZOK SPLIT 1700 (CRO). Last placed Vital Ljubljana (SLO) suffered another 0:3 loss, this time against the Slovaks of Slavia BRATISLAVA.
The Croats of ZOK RIJEKA didn’t lose a set for the eleventh time this season on Saturday against Doprastav BRATISLAVA. The game of Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR against ZOK SPLIT 1700 was much closer. The home team celebrated its win after five thrilling sets. Four players scored in double figures for the Slovenians, who moved up to the third spot in the standings. On the other hand, SPLIT dropped down to the fifth position.
Slavia BRATISLAVA showed no mercy for the girls of Vital LJUBLJANA who – for the thirteenth time this season – could not score a set.

Results
Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR (SLO) vs, ZOK SPLIT 1700 (CRO) 3:2 (20-25, 25-13, 25-16, 21-25, 15-12)
Vital LJUBLJANA (SLO) vs. Slavia BRATISLAVA (SVK) 0:3 (21-25, 21-25, 14-25)
Doprastav BRATISLAVA (SVK) vs. ZOK RIJEKA (CRO) 0:3 (26-28, 11-25, 11-25)

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