Slovenia booked the first semifinal spot in the men's Volleyball Nations League after an epic straight-set victory over Turkiye in the first quarterfinal at the Ningbo Beilun Sports Centre, China, on Wednesday. The 3-0 scoreline (25-21, 35-33, 39-37) belied a contest that stretched well beyond two hours and felt more like a five-setter, with the second and third sets both extending deep into overtime.
After a relatively straightforward first set, the match turned into a marathon. Slovenia squandered as many as 10 set points in the second set before a Turkish attack into the net finally ended it at 35-33. The third set followed a similar pattern: Turkiye wiped out a five-point deficit at 19-14 through substitute outside hitter Gokcen Yuksel, and both teams traded opportunities deep into extras. Slovenia finally converted their fourth match point when Nik Mujanovic stuffed a Turkish spike for a 39-37 close.
Rok Mozic was the standout performer for Slovenia, racking up a match-high 25 points entirely from offense at a 58% success rate. Opposite Nik Mujanovic contributed 20 points, including three blocks and two aces. Slovenia's blocking unit delivered 11 stuffs, while they committed just 18 unforced errors compared to Turkiye's 28.