21-year-old rising star Rok Mozic led Slovenia to their second win in Volleyball Nations League 2023. In a Pool 2 match in Nagoya on Saturday, the Slovenians produced a 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 25-22) upset of defending VNL champions France to improve to a 2-1 win-loss record and six points and rise to sixth place in the current standings. France, on the other hand, dropped to 1-2 and three points in 10th place.
VNL 2023
Slovenia Rok France
21-year-old Rok Mozic scores 21 points against the defending champs
Published 06:10, 10 Jun 2023
Up above the net: Rok Mozic against Quentin Jouffroy and Theo Faure
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With 46 successful spikes and three aces from each of the two teams, it was Slovenia’s blocking that made the difference in the match. The winners produced 12 kill blocks against seven for the French. Outside hitter Rok Mozic was the best scorer of the game with 21 points. He made 17 points in attack at a 53% success rate and added two aces and two blocks to his tally. His cross-court teammate and captain Tine Urnaut contributed another 16 points to Slovenia’s success. Outside Timothee Carle also finished with 16 points on France’s side.
An even battle unfolded in the first set of the match. The lead changed hands several times during the set and at 23-23 the two sides had an equal number of successful attacks and kill blocks, while the French were slightly ahead in serving with an ace scored by opposite Theo Faure. It was the unforced errors that made the difference in the end. A French mistake from the serving line and then another one in attack handed Slovenia the set at 25-23. Scoring five points in a row, Slovenia took a 10-6 lead in the second set and never looked back. With improved blocking efforts, they dominated the set on the way to a convincing 25-18 close, bought in with a powerful back-row hit from Klemen Cebulj.
With Faure impressive on the block, France came back to gain control of the third set. However, spearheaded by Mozic in attack, the Slovenians fought back to catch up at 21-21. From that point on, it was all about Kevin Tillie. The experienced outside hit four points in a row to bring home the set at 25-21 France’s way. Trying to keep the momentum, the French maintained a slight edge during the first half of the fourth set and even opened a three-point gap at 10-7. After 14-13, however, the Slovenians produced a five-point series to take control and never let go. With Urnaut leading the way, they kept pace until the last point, which the captain himself delivered with a clever tip for 25-22.
Slovenians celebrate
“I feel amazing!” Rok Mozic exclaimed after the match. “Winning or losing changes everything for me. I had two bad days after we lost to Bulgaria, so I wanted this win a lot. France is a good team, but we managed the situation at the end of the set. We also had the opportunities to win by 3-0. This is an important three points for us and we need to continue this way. This is my passion. I like this game, I like winning, I like playing for my country with these teammates and I try to enjoy every point. Great emotions today, but we need to focus on tomorrow. Iran for sure is a very strong team, but if play well, we can win that game too.”
In their last matches of the first competition week in Nagoya, on Sunday, Slovenia will face Iran at 12:40 local time (03:40 UTC) and France will take on hosts Japan at 19:10 (10:10).
Canada and Argentina in action in Ottawa
Less than four hours earlier, the last match on Friday’s programme in the other pool in Ottawa finished with a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-16) victory for Argentina over hosts Canada, which propelled the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallists up to second place in the current standings. The South Americans now have a 2-1 win-loss record and as many points, seven, as table leaders Poland, who top the chart on 3-0. Canada are 12th on 1-1 and two points.
Later on Saturday in Nagoya, an all-Asian clash between Iran and China will begin at 15:40 local time (06:40 UTC) before Japan meet Bulgaria at 19:10 (10:10). VNL action will then move back to Ottawa, where the Pool 1 programme features games between Germany and Italy at 13:00 local time (17:00 UTC), between Brazil and Cuba at 16:30 (20:30) and between North American neighbours Canada and USA at 20:00 (00:00).
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