Slovenia delivered the first major sensation of the men’s Volleyball Nations League in Ningbo, China. They secured a commanding 3-1 victory (25-22, 15-25, 25-19, 25-18) against the defending VNL champions and reigning Olympic champions France in Thursday`s opening quarterfinal. This significant win sets Slovenia up to face current world champions Italy in one of Saturday’s semifinals. This marks Slovenia’s third VNL semifinal appearance, and they are now focused on securing their first VNL medal.
Match Analysis
While Slovenia undeniably claimed a well-deserved victory, it could be argued that France played a significant role in their own downfall. The French team committed a staggering 40 unforced errors, a costly factor that largely determined the outcome of the match. In the fourth set alone, they gifted 16 points to their opponents, including the decisive match-winning point which came from a serving error. Slovenia also demonstrated a clear advantage in blocking, registering 10 successful blocks compared to France`s mere four.
Key Player Performances
Setter Uros Planinsic was particularly impactful at the net, contributing four of Slovenia’s 10 kill blocks. Middle blocker and captain Jan Kozamernik added another three blocks, finishing with a total of six points. Opposite Toncek Stern spearheaded Slovenia`s offensive efforts, leading the team with 16 points, all achieved through powerful attacks with an impressive 59% success rate.
Slovenia’s 23-year-old outside hitter Rok Mozic shared his thoughts after the game: “It was certainly unexpected, even for us. But we came from a good position, without pressure. We played good volleyball in the league round and, for sure, we did not come to the Finals for just one game. It was not our best match, and not the best match for France, with a lot of mistakes. But the most important was the win today. We stayed in the game, except for the second set, and we are incredibly happy, because the final four is an incredible result for us. But we don’t want to stop. We have two more games in front of us and, for sure, we want to go home with a medal.”
Despite their significant error count, France showed offensive prowess in other areas, outscoring Slovenia in both attack (56-38 in spike kills) and serving (7-2 in aces). Their opposite, Theo Faure, was the top scorer of the match, accumulating 19 points, including an ace and a kill block, while maintaining a 55% attack success rate. Outside hitters Yacine Louati and Trevor Celevenot also contributed significantly, scoring 15 and 13 points respectively for France.
France’s setter and captain Benjamin Toniutti commented candidly on the loss: “It’s easy – Slovenia played better than us and the best team won today. So, congrats to Slovenia! For us, it was not a good day. I think we played badly. So, we have to think about this, go back to France, recover and prepare ourselves as a team, mentally and physically, for the World Championship.”
Upcoming Matches
The final quarterfinal match in Ningbo, featuring Japan against Poland, is scheduled to commence later on Thursday at 19:00 local time (11:00 UTC). The winner of this contest will advance to face Brazil in the remaining semifinal on Saturday.
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick