Slovenia beat Serbia 3:0 in the CEV European Championship on Monday evening, a result that shifts the table dynamics in their favour. The hosts moved up with that victory, while Serbia's position slipped further down the standings.
To be fair, the gap between them wasn't vast before this match. Slovenia sat second with ten points from five games, three wins and two losses. Serbia were third on seven points, also with three victories and two defeats. What separated them was the quality of those results, and tonight Slovenia made that separation clearer.
The visitors had been inconsistent in their last five outings. They beat Denmark 3:2 and the Netherlands 3:2, but lost to Belgium 0:3 and Finland 0:3, with a narrow defeat to Estonia 1:3 rounding out the run. Slovenia's form was similarly mixed, though their 3:0 win over Sweden and 3:1 victory against Czechia showed they could put together a full performance when required.
And here's the thing — we had Slovenia winning this one, confidence at 86 per cent. It wasn't a blind call. The hosts had the momentum at home, and Serbia's away record in this tournament had been fragile. When a team finds a way back into a match you start to worry, but tonight Slovenia held their nerve from the opening set.
By then the table told its own story. Slovenia now sit second with ten points, Serbia third with seven. The gap is three points, and this result will make life awkward for the visitors if they don't start stringing together wins. The standings don't lie, and tonight Slovenia made sure they spoke clearly.
