ACH Volley Ljubljana and HAOK Mladost took important steps toward the group stage of the men’s CEV Champions League qualifiers with victories over Orion Stars and Levski Sofia, respectively.
Slovenian champions ACH Volley Ljubljana delivered a straight-set victory in the Netherlands, defeating Orion Stars Doetinchem 3-0 (25-23, 28-26, 25-14). Despite establishing an early 8-2 advantage, ACH faced resistance in the opening set as Orion recovered to level at 18-18. The visitors eventually prevailed 25-23 before surviving two set points in a closely contested second set. ACH dominated the third, building a commanding lead and closing out the match 25-14.
Rok Bračko led the Slovenian side with 15 points, followed by Tonček Štern with 14 and Marko Ivović with 11. Youri Ebbelaar scored 14 for Orion.
The return match is scheduled for November 12 at 20:00 in Ljubljana’s Tivoli Hall, where another victory would secure ACH’s progression.
Meanwhile, Croatian champions HAOK Mladost defeated Bulgarian titleholders Levski Sofia 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 17-25, 25-23) in Zagreb. After comfortably winning the opening two sets, Mladost surrendered the third before overcoming a determined Levski comeback in the fourth. The Croatian side had led 21-14 before eventually sealing the set 25-23.
Sven Jakopec finished with 16 points, including seven blocks, while Leo Andrić contributed 15. Levski’s Kristian Titriyski topped the match scoring charts with 25 points.
The decisive return fixture takes place November 11 in Sofia, with Levski needing a victory to keep their qualification hopes alive.
