A rising star of the Slovakian national team will be joining one of the top volleyball leagues in the world for the 2017/2018 season. Jakub Kovac is leaving his professional team in Slovakia to join Top Volley Latina in the Italian SuperLega. The 20 year old middle blocker played last year for COP Trencin in the Slovakian Extraliga, as the team struggled in the regular season to an eighth place finish out of nine teams, narrowly avoiding relegation in the postseason. Kovac will be competing for playing time as a substitute middle blocker.
The 6’6” (200 cm) Kovac hails from Slovakia and is considered to be a key member of the national team moving forward, having already spent time training and playing with the senior squad. The Slovakia men’s volleyball team has shown some impressive results in 2017. The team finished 15th at the 2017 European Championships and finished 19th at the 2017 FIVB World League, winning four matches in group 2 along the way. The 19th place finish is the best result for the country in their history.
Kovac’s new club, Top Volley Latina, finished the 2016/2017 regular season in 11th place out of 14 teams, but made a good run in the playoffs losing to eventual champion La Cucine Lube Civitanova to finish in 5th place. Latina opens the 2017/2018 regular season on October 15th when they battle Calzedonia Verona.
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