CEVMain

Türkiye, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece to represent Balkan on U20 European Championships

by Press
written by Press

The second round of qualifications for the U20 European Championship was played last weekend, involving Balkan countries, including the tournament organizers.

Serbia was the host of the pool A U20 Women tournament, and Montenegro was the host of pool E for U20 Men.

Qualification for the Final Round of U20 European Championship was secured by the winners of 5 groups and the top 4 second-placed teams in the 2nd Round of women’s competition, and the winners of 5 groups and the top 3 second-placed teams in the 2nd Round of men’s competition.

On the U20 Men European Championship 2024 from Balkan will play Serbia, Greece (hosts), Bulgaria and Türkiye, as well as Czech Republic, Latvia, Ukraine, Austria, Spain, Israel, Italy, Finland, Slovenia, Poland, France, Scotland.

U20 Men European Championship 2024 (players born in 2005 and younger) will take place in Vrnjačka Banja (Serbia) and Arta (Greece), from August 26th to September 7th. The semifinal matches, as well as the medal matches, will be held in Vrnjačka Banja.

For the U20 European Championship in women’s competition from Balkan qualified national teams of Bulgaria (host), Türkiye and Serbia, as well as Ireland (organizer), Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia, Poland, Italy, Ukraine, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Portugal.

The U20 Women European Championship 2024 (players born in 2005 and younger) will take place in Sofia (Bulgaria) and Dublin (Ireland), from August 5th to 17th.

Sixteen teams will compete in the Final Round of U20 ECH, divided into two groups of eight teams each. The matches will be played under a round-robin points system, and the top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.

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GreeceMain

Olympiacos celebrates double triumph in Greek national cup

by Press
written by Press

Olympiacos PIRAEUS completed this past weekend a clean sweep of titles in the latest edition of the Greek national cup, thereby further expanding their already remarkable collection of domestic and international trophies.

In the women’s competition, Olympiacos dispatched Panathinaikos in the semifinal before overcoming AEK in the final in Loutraki, this way lifting the trophy for the 10th time in their history. Olympiacos Czech opposite hitter, Michaela Mlejnkova, was just outstanding in the 3-0 win against AEK, registering a personal tally of 18 points to provide a crucial contribution to the victory that gave Olympiacos the first title of the current season.

In the men’s competition held in Larissa, Olympiacos lifted the cup for the first time since 2017, defeating AONS Milon in a thrilling final lasting for five sets to celebrate their 17th title.

Mitar Tzourits secured the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award as he kept Olympiacos alive against Milon – the outsiders came close to pulling off a major upset – by scoring 20 points and managing as many as seven blocks on his own.

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MainMontenegro

OK HERCEG NOVI and OK BUDVA retain Montenegrin Cup titles

by Press
written by Press

OK HERCEG NOVI comfortably defeated Luka BAR 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-19) in the final of the women’s Montenegrin Cup contested at the Nikoljac Sports Centre in Bijelo Polje. This way, the reigning champions retained their title from last year, thereby securing the Montenegrin Cup for the second time in the club’s history. Luka BAR finished as runners-up for the eighth time in the history of the most prestigious domestic competition in the Balkan country.

OK HERCEG NOVI captain Ralitsa Vasileva, with 16 points, and Dijana Vuković, with 13, set the pace for the Cup winners. Oksana Iakushina contributed with ten points. For Luka BAR, Kristina Božović scored 10 points, captain Dušanka Petrović seven times, and middle blocker Aieska Vicente Ferreira contributed six points.

In the men’s competition, in a very exciting match, played in front of more than a thousand spectators, OK BUDVA defeated Jedinstvo BIJELO POLJE 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-22) at the very same venue. This victory marks their sixth consecutive triumph in the Cup final. It was the fifth time Bijelo Polje hosted the final match in the men’s competition. The finals were organised very professionally. However, Jedinstvo could not capitalise on the home advantage, and they remain with two trophies to their name, which they won in 2017 and 2018.

The respective team captains were the top scorers in the thrilling final match. Balša Radunović secured 15 points for Budva, supported by nine points from Aleksandar Minić and Matija Ćinćur, and eight points scored by Benjamin Hadžisalihović. On the other side, Milan Rovčanin, alongside Miloš Zečević, was the most effective with 10 points apiece, while Nikola Đurović and Vladan Stojanović contributed with seven points each.

Dijana Vuković and Benjamin Hadžisalihović were named the EPCG MVPs of the Montenegrin Cup final, in the memorable atmosphere of the Nikoljac Sports Centre, where awards, medals, and trophies were presented to the best performers.

The trophy designated for the winner of the 2024 Montenegrin Cup in the men’s competition was presented to the Budva team by the President of the Montenegrin Volleyball Federation, Cvetko Pajković. OK HERCEG NOVI received their trophy from Marko Maslovarić, the director of the Public Institution Centre for Sports and Recreation in Bijelo Polje.

The medals for the winners of the Cup were presented by the President of the Municipality Assembly of Bijelo Polje, Ernad Suljević, and the President of OK Jedinstvo, Vukman Obradović. Medals for the Budva volleyball team and their coaching staff were handed out by the director of OK Budva, Radenko Marović, and the State Secretary in the Ministry of Sports and Youth, Vladimir Obradović. MVPs Dijana Vuković and Benjamin Hadžisalihović received their awards from the head of the regional centre in Bijelo Polje, Branislav Pajković.

The silver medals for the Cup finalists, both players and coaching staff of Luka BAR, were presented by the General Secretary of the Montenegrin Volleyball Federation (OSCG), Ivan Bošković, and the director of OK Jedinstvo, Slobodan Šebek. Meanwhile, the silver medals for the players and coaching staff of Jedinstvo were handed out by OSCG Board Member Nikola Kažić and OK Jedinstvo Board Member Musko Ljuca. Plaques were awarded to the captains of Luka BAR, Dušanka Petrović, and Jedinstvo, Milan Rovčanin by Mr Bošković and Mr Kažić.

The referees of the Montenegrin Cup final matches – Sonja Simonovska, Jelena Mitrović, Slobodan Kovačević, and Dragana Vučinić – as well as the OSCG supervisor for the final matches, Miloš Jovanović, received recognition from the OSCG competition commissioner, Nikola Pješčić.

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MainNorth Macedonia

Stip UGD and Strumica claim historic Macedonian Cup titles, international referee Nikola Micevski bids farewell to the sport

by Press
written by Press

Another drama-filled edition of the Macedonian Volleyball Cup has ended with top honours eventually going to OK Stip UGD and OK Strumica in the men’s and women’s competition, respectively. The two clubs played in the final for the first time and won the cup, as international referee Nikola Micevski symbolically ended his career right where his journey in the sport began as a player, in front of a home crowd in his hometown of Stip.

The final tournament was held at the Jordan Mijalkov sports hall, starting on Thursday with the semi-final matches in the men’s competition. Stip UGD easily defeated Rabotnicki 71&22 in straight sets, and the current champions Strumica 47&72 played a routine match against Liria for a 3-0 triumph. The following day the stage was set for the ladies for their semi-final matches. Strumica won over the defending champions of Rabotnicki Skopje by 3-2, and Janta volley did so against two-time finalist Nakovski volley (3-1). On the last day of the final tournament, Strumica defeated Janta volley 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-14) and celebrated winning the first trophy in the club’s history, while the team from the city Skopje failed to repeat the success of 2021 when it was victorious in one of its seven final appearances this far.

he atmosphere in the hall reached its climax when the players of Stip UGD challenged the favourite Strumica 47&72 – a side which has won as many as nine double crowns in the past 11 seasons. The home heroes played the finals for the first time, but this time the experience was not the deciding factor, as they put up a great fight, and they showed much composure and resilience in the decisive moments. Stip UGD eventually secured a 3-2 victory (22-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 15-13) and long into the night celebrated the greatest sports success for the city of Stip across all team sports.

For the creator of this, until recently, unimaginable success, this is a dream come true.

“In the past years since we have started working on this project, we never stopped believing that we have the potential to rise to such heights. It is never easy, but we did not give up and this Cup is a reward for all of us at the club.”

Vance Sanev
President of UGD Stip

To make the satisfaction of the people of Stip even greater, as a prelude to the final, the audience honoured Macedonian international referee Nikola Micevski, who ended his refereeing career at the age of 49. After taking part in more than 150 matches run by CEV and FIVB in the past two and a half decades, three finals of the European Cups, one World and two European under-age championships and more than 20 finals in the Macedonian Championship and Cup, Nikola Micevski put an end to one exceptionally significant chapter in his life. Right where he started, not imagining that this would be a journey of pleasure, happiness, and an endless source of pleasant memories.

Довидување Никола, се гледаме во сала, повторно! Goodbye Nikola, see you in the hall, again!

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