The victory got Slovenia up to seven points in the pool, with two wins and a loss, good for second place behind the undefeated Bulgaria, which earned eight, with three victories after beating Chile 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-12) earlier on Wednesday. Germany were third with three points (one win, two losses), while Chile didn't win points or sets in their second World Championship appearance.
The Štern brothers had a key role in the Slovenian success against the Germans, with opposite Tonček leading the team with 18 points (15 kills, three blocks) and outside hitter Žiga contributing another 16 (13 kills, two aces, one block). Playing again as an outside hitter, opposite Nik Mujanović also registered 16, with 14 kills and two aces.
"I think the service pressure we were able to have on Germany was very important today," Mujanović said after the match. "We didn't start very well in that regard, but improved a lot throughout the match. I thought we were consistent and did well in counter-attacks too, so it was a good match for us in general."
