OK Maribor

Slovenian volleyball club From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Odbojkarski klub Maribor (English: Maribor Volleyball Club) or simply OK Maribor, known as i-Vent Maribor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Slovenian professional volleyball team based in Maribor. The team play their home games at Tabor Hall and competes in the Slovenian Volleyball League, the top division of Slovenian volleyball. Founded in 1945, the club has won the Slovenian national championship three times (1992, 1993 and 2021) and the national cup four times (1992, 1994, 1995 and 2006).

Full nameOdbojkarski klub i-Vent Maribor
Founded14 June 1945; 80 years ago (14 June 1945)[1]
GroundTabor Hall
Maribor, Slovenia
(Capacity: 3,261)
ChairmanMilan Kuster
Quick facts Full name, Founded ...
i-Vent Maribor
Full nameOdbojkarski klub i-Vent Maribor
Founded14 June 1945; 80 years ago (14 June 1945)[1]
GroundTabor Hall
Maribor, Slovenia
(Capacity: 3,261)
ChairmanMilan Kuster
ManagerSebastijan Škorc
CaptainŽiga Donik
LeagueSlovenian Volleyball League
2025−26Regular season: 4th
Playoffs: Quarterfinals
WebsiteClub home page
Championships1992, 1993, 2021
Uniforms
Home
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History

Immediately after the Second World War, on 14 June 1945, the men's volleyball section of the Železničar Sports Association was established.[1] They played in the inaugural edition of the Slovenian national championship in 1946 and finished in fourth place.[1] In 1947, the club was renamed as Odbojkarski klub Železničar (English: Železničar Volleyball Club).[1] In 1951, the team was relegated from the Slovenian championship.[1]

In 1976, Železničar merged with its city rival Branik and became Odbojkarski klub Maribor (English: Maribor Volleyball Club).[1] In 1980, Maribor won the Yugoslav second division and qualified for the highest level of Yugoslav volleyball, the Yugoslav Volleyball Championship.[2] The club was relegated during its first top division season, but the following year they won the second division and were thus immediately promoted back.[2] They were also the runners-up of the Yugoslav Cup in 1983.[1] Maribor remained in the top division until 1989, when the Yugoslav League was reorganized and reduced to eight teams.[2] Maribor again immediately returned to the top tier after winning the A2 division in 1990, but the following year the club again dropped out of the Yugoslav top tier. This was also the last season before the breakup of Yugoslavia.[2]

In 1991, Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia, and the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia established its own league system. OK Maribor won the first two editions of the newly established Slovenian Volleyball League, becoming back-to-back national champions in 1992 and 1993.[3] As Slovenian champions, the team competed in the 1992–93 edition of the CEV European Champions Cup, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Swiss team Lausanne UC.[4] During the 1990s, Maribor also won the national cup three times and was the league runner-up on several occasions.[5] In January 2006, Maribor, competing under the sponsorship name Prevent Gradnje IGM, won its fourth national cup title by defeating Salonit Anhovo in the final, the first major trophy won by the club in eleven years.[6]

Between 2009 and 2019, the club went through a period of stagnation, never finishing higher than fourth in the league. In 2009–10, Maribor even finished in the last, 12th place.[7] In December 2019, the club signed a sponsorship deal with Merkur and changed its name to Merkur Maribor.[8] In 2021, Maribor won their third national championship after defeating ACH Volley 3–2 in the final, preventing them from winning their 17th consecutive title.[9]

Name changes

Throughout its history, OK Maribor has been named after their main sponsor on numerous occasions:

  • Stavbar Maribor (1979–1984)
  • Stavbar/MTT Maribor (1984–1989)
  • Tehno Mobil (1989–1990)
  • Vileda Maribor (1990–1994)
  • Bella Viola Maribor (1994–1995)[10]
  • Marles Maribor (1995–1996)
  • Gradis Maribor (1997–1998)
  • Stavbar IGM Maribor (1998–2004)
  • Prevent Gradnje IGM (2004–2007)
  • MTB Maribor (2008–2010)
  • Lunos Maribor (2013–2015)
  • Merkur Maribor (2019–2023)
  • i-Vent Maribor (2024–present)

Season-by-season records

More information Season, League ...
Season League Position Domestic cup Europe
1991–92 1. DOL Champions Winners N/a
1992–93 1. DOL Champions Runners-up CEV European Champions CupPR
1993–94 1. DOL Runners-up Winners CEV European Champions CupR16
1994–95 1. DOL 3rd Winners CEV Cup Winners' CupQF
1995–96 1. DOL Runners-up Runners-up CEV Cup Winners' CupGS
1996–97 1. DOL Runners-up Runners-up CEV Cup Winners' CupGS
1997–98 1. DOL 3rd Semi-final CEV Cup Winners' CupGS
1998–99 1. DOL Runners-up Semi-final CEV CupMP
1999–00 1. DOL 5th Runners-up CEV CupMP
2000–01 1. DOL 6th Quarter-final N/a
2001–02 1. DOL 3rd Quarter-final CEV CupMP
2002–03 1. DOL Runners-up Semi-final CEV CupMP
2003–04 1. DOL 5th Semi-final CEV CupMP
2004–05 1. DOL 5th Round of 16 N/a
2005–06 1. DOL Runners-up Winners N/a
2006–07 1. DOL Runners-up Quarter-final CEV CupR16
CEV Top Teams CupPR
2007–08 1. DOL 3rd Quarter-final CEV Challenge CupR3
CEV CupR32
2008–09 1. DOL 6th Quarter-final CEV Challenge CupR2
2009–10 1. DOL 12th Round of 16 N/a
2010–11 1. DOL 10th Fourth round N/a
2011–12 1. DOL 8th Round of 16 N/a
2012–13 1. DOL 5th Semi-final N/a
2013–14 1. DOL 5th Semi-final N/a
2014–15 1. DOL 7th Round of 16 N/a
2015–16 1. DOL 5th Quarter-final N/a
2016–17 1. DOL 5th Round of 16 N/a
2017–18 1. DOL 5th Quarter-final N/a
2018–19 1. DOL 4th Quarter-final N/a
2019–20 1. DOL 3rd Runners-up N/a
2020–21 1. DOL Champions Quarter-final N/a
2021–22 1. DOL 3rd Runners-up CEV Champions LeagueGS
2022–23 1. DOL 3rd Semi-final CEV Challenge CupQ32
2023–24 1. DOL 3rd Runners-up CEV Challenge CupQ32
2024–25 1. DOL 5th Runners-up CEV Volleyball CupQ32
2025–26 1. DOL 6th Quarter-final CEV Challenge CupR32
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Players

2025−26 team

More information Number, Name ...
NumberNameBirthdateHeight (cm)Position
2Slovenia Žiga Kastelic (2007-03-01) 1 March 2007 (age 19)182Setter
3Slovenia Timotej Vodušek (2004-11-19) 19 November 2004 (age 21)195Middle blocker
4Portugal Gustavo Cavalcant (2001-02-03) 3 February 2001 (age 25)193Wing spiker
5Cuba Carlos Charles Santana (2000-10-04) 4 October 2000 (age 25)200Opposite
6Slovenia Tai Dežman (2008-06-25) 25 June 2008 (age 17)195Middle blocker
8Slovenia Jakob Breznik (2007-07-06) 6 July 2007 (age 18)196Middle blocker
9Slovenia Jakob Špes Podbregar (2005-12-16) 16 December 2005 (age 20)193Wing spiker
11Slovenia Žiga Donik (1995-09-21) 21 September 1995 (age 30)192Wing spiker
12Slovenia Maj Škorc (2008-12-31) 31 December 2008 (age 17)184Libero
13Slovenia Filip Uremović (1995-11-13) 13 November 1995 (age 30)193Middle blocker
15Slovenia Jan Hribernik (2006-02-19) 19 February 2006 (age 20)183Libero
17Slovenia Matic Videčnik (1993-07-31) 31 July 1993 (age 32)204Middle blocker
19Slovenia Nejc Kožar (2003-10-01) 1 October 2003 (age 22)196Setter
22Cuba Bryan Camino Martinez (2003-02-23) 23 February 2003 (age 23)190Wing spiker
99Slovenia Liam Klinger (2008-07-02) 2 July 2008 (age 17)185Wing spiker
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Head coach: Sebastijan Škorc
Assistant coach: Alen Kranjc

Source: Volleyball Federation of Slovenia

Honours

  • Slovenian Volleyball League
    • Winners (3): 1991–92, 1992–93, 2020–21
    • Runners-up (7): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07
  • Slovenian Cup
    • Winners (4): 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2005–06
    • Runners-up (8): 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2023–24, 2024–25

References

External links

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