Rijeka’s volleyball team defeated Rovinj 3-2 in the third round of the Superleague, despite trailing 0-2 in sets. The match was played at the Gimnasium Sports Hall in front of 200 spectators, with the Rijeka side winning after 142 minutes of play.
The first set began with balanced play, featuring seven ties up to 7-7. Following a serve by Ličina and points from Lopatić and Al. Fatorić, the hosts took a 10-7 lead, extending it to 16-11. Guest coach Andrej Burić requested two timeouts, but Rovinj led 21-15 and won the first set after 27 minutes. In the second set, the hosts went ahead 5-2, with Lopatić’s spike bringing the lead to 8-4. The visitors closed the gap to two points at 15-13, but points from Versato, Parsa and Stjepić gave the hosts a four-point run to make it 19-14. Stjepić’s block led to 20-14, Parsa’s spike to 23-16, and captain Aleksandar Fatorić sealed the set with an effective serve to give Rovinj a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, the visitors took the lead for the first time at 5-3, and an ace by Hadžić brought Rijeka to 7-4. Young former Rovinj player Filip Pulić entered the game for the guests. Vuk maintained the 11-8 lead with a block, but the hosts levelled at 12-12 and went ahead 20-18. Nevertheless, Rijeka won the third set after 36 minutes. In the fourth set, the visitors led 5-3 and 9-5, then 11-5 and 16-10, while Rijeka also led 14-8. Vuk’s block was a point for 22-16, and Hadžić brought the Rijeka players to a chance for the first set point, which was capitalised on after a service error by the hosts. After two hours of play, the visitors from Rijeka levelled the sets.
The fifth set featured as many as 10 ties. Andrej Burić’s players entered it down 1-4, but a block by Dukić brought the score level at 9-9. Lozić hit for a 15-14 lead, followed by a Rijeka service ace for the final victory of 2-3. The Rijeka players raised the quality of their play, particularly in the block and on serve, to take the win and two points. Rovinj thus suffered an unexpected defeat in front of their home crowd.
The match officials were Dominik Hamer from Zaprešić and Vladimir Simonović from Zagreb. For Rovinj, Sponza, Vojvodić, Ličina, Krelja, Hassanikhah, Al. Fatorić, Milović, Stjepić, Šetić, Parsa, Preden, Lopatić, An. Fatorić and Versato played, while for Rijeka, Baić, Pulić, Colnar, Vik, Al Hetto, Heigl, Malica Banko, Hadžić, Lozić, Dukić, Smiljanić, Žeželić and Hatežić featured. In the fourth round, leading Ribola Kaštela come to Trsat as favourites.
