Shtip UGD and Nakovski Volej recently claimed the men’s and women’s titles as the Macedonian Volleyball Cup 2025 reached its climax with the finals contested this past April 3-5 at the 25. Maj sports hall in the city of Radoviš.
For the second year in a row, Shtip UGD triumphed as the winners of the men’s competition. In the final match of the 2025 edition, they defeated OK Strumica in straight sets (25-21, 26-24, 25-21). In a great atmosphere and in front of a sellout crowd, the Shtip team justified their role as pre-favourites to keep the trophy in their showcases for another year. The players of Shtip UGD did not have an easy task, considering that Strumica were strongly motivated despite the fact that it could not count on national team players Filip Madjunkov and Slave Nikolov, as they are both still recovering from injury. All sets were closely fought with many entertaining rallies, so it came down to the wire to decide the eventual winners. David Stojanov, the setter of Shtip UGD, was named the Most Valuable Player of the men’s Finals.
Shtip UGD retained the title they had won last year already
In the women’s competition, Nakovski Volej claimed the first-ever Cup title in their club history after defeating Janta Volej KV 3-2 (16-25, 25-18, 10-25, 25-21, 15-13). Nakovski Volej played their third cup final and eventually lifted the trophy after coming back twice from a one-set deficit. The final unfolded with many ups and downs for both teams and featured many long, dramatic points, but also sets won in emphatic style by one or the other team. Janta Volej KV very much hoped to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a trophy, but they failed to do so. Macedonian national team player Ljilja Kovačević, currently playing for Nakovski Volej, was named the Most Valuable Player of the women’s Finals.
Women’s Most Valuable Player Ljilja Kovačević of Nakovski Volej