Ten days before the start of the FIVB World Championships, the Slovenian capital hosted a truly electrifying spectacle – a volleyball tournament on the surface of the Ljubljanica River as part of promotional activities before the biggest volleyball event of the year.
Slovenia’s players impressed the numerous spectators with the attractive volleyball action and proved that the volleyball on water is a real deal. The first tournament of this kind took place in spectacular scenery.
Nina Lovšin and Asja Šen took all the glory among the women with a 2-0 win against Maja Marolt and Živa Javornik. Lovšin was thrilled after their triumph: »Playing volleyball on water was an incredible experience. I would definitely regret it, if I missed this.« Her teammate, Šen agreed: »I am glad that we proved it is possible to play volleyball on water too. The atmosphere was great and this helped us to enjoy the game even more.«
-
Women's Volleyball on the Water. Photo: Volleyball Federation of Slovenia
In the men’s tournament, Urh Port and David Renko claimed the first place after a spectacular clash against Tadej Boženk and Danijel Pokeršnik. Port and Renko held the upper hand at the end claiming a 2-1 victory. Port was happy with their success: »Playing on Ljubljanica surface was truly a crazy experience. Especially since this season, David and me have played only one beach volleyball tournament together and in the end we managed to defeat Boženk and Pokeršnik, two of the best Slovenia’s beach volleyball players, on water.«
-
Men's tournament. Photo: Volleyball Federation of Slovenia
-
Volleyball on Water tournament. Photo: Volleyball Federation of Slovenia
The last part of the evening brought the international promo VIP match with Josip Pribanić (CRO), Felix Friedl (AUT), and Piotr Ilewicz (POL) forming Team World, while national team members Alan Košenina and Uroš Pavlović, together with »Volleyball on Water« tournament winner Urh Port represented Slovenia. The international players claimed the win, but actually result was not important. »I am amazed after this game. When I was watching the finals of the men’s tournament, I thought it was easier to play, but honestly, when I started to play, I saw that it was really tough. Nevertheless, it was a great fun! Playing against Slovenians in this great atmosphere and awesome scenery was unforgettable. Honestly, I will keep only nice memories of this event,« Ilewicz shared his excitement afterwards.
Date: 17. August 2022
Time to read: 2 min
