Opposite Toncek Stern led Slovenia with a match-high 14 points. His tally featured two aces and two kill blocks. Star outside hitter Rok Mozic added another 12 points. So did his 21-year-old cross-court teammate and namesake Rok Bracko, for whom it was only the second game of the season he got to play in. He registered an excellent 65% success rate in attack and added a serving ace to his tally. Their counterpart Efe Mandiraci was Turkiye’s most prolific scorer of the match, with 12 points to his name, including two blocks and one ace.
“We did not come into this tournament in full force as some guys stayed at home, so we need to show to ourselves that we are still a very good team,” Rok Bracko told volleyballworld.com. “So we are very happy to have played the type of volleyball that we like to play. We did everything the coach said and we are happy for this victory. When they need me, I try to do everything for the team. I think I played well today, so I hope that I can do the same in the next game. Against Bulgaria it will be a super physical game. They have a lot of players, who are really well prepared physically and jump a lot, so we need to play our game and do what we do. We expect a lot of people in the hall and I think that’s really good. We’ll do our best…”
