Luka Bar defended the trophy

As in the men's, there were no surprises in the women's Cup either, the trophy did not change its "owner" - the volleyball players of Luke Bar defended the cup, winning the city derby against Galeb with 3:1, and reached the fifth consecutive, sixth overall trophy in this competition in independent Montenegro. In his third final, Galeb lost for the second time (he has the cup from 2010), again against his city rival.

"Sirens" confirmed their dominance in the season so far, in which they lost only two sets in 20 games, one each in the league part of the championship and in the Cup, both against Galeb. For a different epilogue in the final of the playoffs, if there are no surprises in the semifinals, Galeb will need a game at the level of the first part of the match, but throughout the game.

Namely, as the "seagulls" played the first set, led in that part of the game by the excellent Americans, the corrector Audrey Biggs and especially the middle blocker Tessa Lea'ea (eight points in the first set, as many as six from the block), it seemed that the champions "mature ” for the first loss of the season. However, Galeb, inexplicably, "shut down" after the first technical time-out in the second set (8:7), service reception weakened, and Luka Bar entered a recognizable rhythm.

The national team players, Dragana Peruničić and the captain of the champion Elza Hadžisalihović, were relentless in their attack, in the end, the two of them, along with other elements (serve and block), had only five points less than the entire opposing team combined. But Vladimir Milačić's other players also contributed to the victory (Joksimović took three aces, Bojović two, Jelena Rosić won five points in the third set, Cenović was good at receiving and defending...).

"In the final, both teams played a good game, I congratulate Galeb on that. In the first set, we saw their great strength, especially from the two American women, who played a very good match, and the experienced Marljukić. After the first set, we pulled out, and very well. We played at an enviable level, and won the trophy. It is certain that uncertain battles await us in the playoffs as well," said Luka Bar coach Vladimir Milacic.

Uncertainty in the first set lasted until 5:5, and then Galeb "ran away" with a 4:0 series to 9:5, a little later to 11:6 and forced Milačić to take the first time-out of the match. As it did not help, because Galeb led 14:8, Milačić had to ask for a second time-out, but again without effect, because the "seagulls" dominated the field, and everything was decided at 18:10.

Galeb led 8:7 at the first technical time-out in the second set, but stopped there. With four consecutive points, Luka Bar "woke up" and took the lead 12:8, and preserved a four-point advantage at the second mandatory break (16:12). Galeb managed to reduce it to 15:16, he was in the game until 17:19, and when the champion led 21:17, the set was broken.

In the third set, Galeb had an advantage of up to 6:5, held the lead until 8:10, and then Luka Bar took the lead 14:8 with four consecutive points, and later even 20:10, when she secured a 2:1 lead in sets.

When Luka Bar led 5:1, 8:3 and 11:6 at the start of the fourth set, it seemed that Galeb was threatened with a "flood" like in the third set. However, with a series of 6:0, Galeb reversed to 12:11 and returned uncertainty to the match, which lasted until 20:20. Then, however, the greater quality and experience of Luka Bar came to the fore, at this moment, who put an end to this match with five consecutive points until the end...

"A well-deserved victory for Luka Bar. The superiorly won first set, unfortunately, led to relaxation for us, which the experienced and well-coordinated team of Luka Bar, the favorite even before the start of the final tournament, knew how to use. We will learn from this, more important battles are ahead of us, and we will try to archive this defeat as soon as possible. In the playoffs, we have a chance to make amends, I hope we will use it", club president Nikola Vujacic commented on the match on behalf of Galeb.

The winner's cup was presented to the captain of Luka Bar Elza Hadžisalihović by the President of the Serbian Federation of Serbian Orthodox Churches, Cvetko Pajković, and the gold medals were presented to the winners by Dragan Drobnjak, the acting commissioner of the competition and a member of the Presidency of the Serbian Federation of Serbian Orthodox Churches.

The silver medals were presented to the Galeb team by the General Secretary of the OSCG, Ivan Bošković.

Finally, the judges, Sonja Simonovska and Predrag Beljkaš, and the delegate Anka Ivanović from Bar, were presented with medals by the supreme judge of the OSCG, Saša Ivanović.

Seagull - Luke Bar 1:3 (25:15, 19:25, 12:25, 20:25)

Bar – Hall: "Topolica". Spectators: about 1.000. Judges: Sonja Simonovska and Predrag Beljkaš (both from Bar). Attack points: Galeb 33, Luka Bar 48. Block points: Galeb 13, Luka Bar 5. Service points: Galeb 4, Luka Bar 9. Service errors: Galeb 13, Luka Bar 13. Fouls: Galeb 15, Luka Bar 13.

Galeb: VUJOŠEVIĆ 9, Čavić, Oluić, Mašanović (libero 2), Ratknić, VOJVODIC 2, LEA'EA 17, MARLJUKIĆ 5, VUJOVIĆ 7, Radović, ĐUKIĆ (libero 1), BIGZ 9.

Luka Bar: BOJOVIĆ 3, J. ROSIĆ 6, CENOVIĆ (libero), JOKSIMOVIĆ 9, PERUNIČIĆ 25, M. ROSIĆ, HADŽISALIHOVIĆ 19, Vuković, Kruta 1, Vujanović, Barjaktarović, Milivojević.