Stern on fire as Slovenia shut out Serbia and book quarterfinal spot

Slovenia were the first team to book a spot in the quarterfinals of the men’s Olympic volleyball tournament after shutting out Serbia on Tuesday in their second Pool A game at the South Paris Arena.

High-scoring opposite Toncek Stern powered his team to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) sweep of their encounter with the Serbian squad, which consolidated Slovenia’s first place in the current pool table, where they stand on a 2-0 win-loss record and six points, while Serbia are still winless, with one point.

Stern spearheaded the Slovenian offence during the first set and hammered out as many as 10 points as his team outspiked Serbia to stay in control on the way to a 25-21 win, shaped up with a successful swing by outside hitter and captain Tine Urnaut for the last point. Serbia opened a four-point lead in the second set, but after 15-11, Slovenia went on a 10-point series, with middle blocker Alen Pajenk hammering out a fantastic serving run, garnished with three aces. There was no coming back for Serbia, as Stern continued to spike away until nailing the 25-19 winner. In the third set, Serbia once again took a three-point lead they could not hold on to. The Slovenians regained control and cruised on to a spectacular 25-19 closing with a high-flying back-row swing by Klemen Cebulj.

Stern’s match high of 25 points included two aces and a kill block. He registered an impressive 65% success rate in attack. Cebulj finished with 12 points, while the only Serbian player who reached the double digits was outside Marko Ivovic with 10.

“This win means a lot! We know that at the Olympics every match is like a final. We are now qualified for the quarterfinals and that’s our first success here. We know what we dream for and aim at for the end of the tournament, but we have to go step by step. We made the first step and we are very happy, but we are not finished. Now we have to rest and be ready for the next match against France. That game is very important for our heads, for our mentality, but we have nothing to lose, so we can be a little more relaxed,” Stern told the FIVB.

“They deserved the victory today. They played much better, much more aggressive. They served much better than us,” said Serbian middle blocker Marko Podrascanin. “It was a really important game for both teams, but we didn’t play so much good-level volleyball. We started the second set well, but after Pajenk’s great serving run, it was, again, a well deserved victory for the Slovenian national team. We have three or four days to prepare for the game against Canada. It’s a win-or-go-home situation and I think it will be a good game for my team.”

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