Odbojkarski klub Maribor () 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).
History Immediately after the Second World War, on 14 June 1945, the men's volleyball section of the Železničar Sports Association was established. They played in the inaugural edition of the Slovenian national championship in 1946 and finished in fourth place. In 1947, the club was renamed as Odbojkarski klub Železničar (). In 1951, the team was relegated from the Slovenian championship.
In 1976, Železničar merged with its city rival Branik and became Odbojkarski klub Maribor (). In 1980, Maribor won the Yugoslav second division and qualified for the highest level of Yugoslav volleyball, the Yugoslav Volleyball Championship. 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. They were also the runners-up of the Yugoslav Cup in 1983. Maribor remained in the top division until 1989, when the Yugoslav League was reorganized and reduced to eight teams. 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.
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. 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. During the 1990s, Maribor also won the national cup three times and was the league runner-up on several occasions. 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.
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. In December 2019, the club signed a sponsorship deal with Merkur and changed its name to Merkur Maribor. 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.
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) 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 SeasonDomestic cup1991–92 1. DOLChampionsWinners colspan="2" 1992–93 1. DOLChampionsRunners-up CEV European Champions Cup 1993–94 1. DOLRunners-upWinners CEV European Champions Cup 1994–95 1. DOL3rdWinners CEV Cup Winners' Cup 1995–96 1. DOLRunners-upRunners-up CEV Cup Winners' Cup 1996–97 1. DOLRunners-upRunners-up CEV Cup Winners' Cup 1997–98 1. DOL3rdSemi-final CEV Cup Winners' Cup 1998–99 1. DOLRunners-upSemi-final CEV Cup 1999–00 1. DOL5thRunners-up CEV Cup 2000–01 1. DOL6thQuarter-final colspan="2" 2001–02 1. DOL3rdQuarter-final CEV Cup 2002–03 1. DOLRunners-upSemi-final CEV Cup 2003–04 1. DOL5thSemi-final CEV Cup 2004–05 1. DOL5thRound of 16 colspan="2" 2005–06 1. DOLRunners-upWinners colspan="2" 2006–071. DOLRunners-upQuarter-final CEV Cup CEV Top Teams Cup 2007–081. DOL3rdQuarter-final CEV Challenge CupCEV Cup2008–09 1. DOL6thQuarter-final CEV Challenge Cup 2009–10 1. DOL12thRound of 16 colspan="2" 2010–11 1. DOL10thFourth round colspan="2" 2011–12 1. DOL8thRound of 16 colspan="2" 2012–13 1. DOL5thSemi-final colspan="2" 2013–14 1. DOL5thSemi-final colspan="2" 2014–15 1. DOL7thRound of 16 colspan="2" 2015–16 1. DOL5thQuarter-final colspan="2" 2016–17 1. DOL5thRound of 16 colspan="2" 2017–18 1. DOL5thQuarter-final colspan="2" 2018–19 1. DOL4thQuarter-final colspan="2" 2019–20 1. DOL3rdRunners-up colspan="2" 2020–21 1. DOLChampionsQuarter-final colspan="2" 2021–22 1. DOL3rdRunners-up CEV Champions League 2022–23 1. DOL3rdSemi-final CEV Challenge Cup 2023–24 1. DOL3rdRunners-up CEV Challenge Cup 2024–25 1. DOL5thRunners-up CEV Volleyball Cup 2025–26 1. DOL6thQuarter-final CEV Challenge Cup
Players
2025−26 team Number Name Birthdate Height (cm) Position 2 Žiga Kastelic 182 Setter 3 Timotej Vodušek 195 Middle blocker 4 Gustavo Cavalcant 193 Wing spiker 5 Carlos Charles Santana 200 Opposite 6 Tai Dežman 195 Middle blocker 8 Jakob Breznik 196 Middle blocker 9 Jakob Špes Podbregar 193 Wing spiker 11 Žiga Donik 192 Wing spiker 12 Maj Škorc 184 Libero 13 Filip Uremović 193 Middle blocker 15 Jan Hribernik 183 Libero 17 Matic Videčnik 204 Middle blocker 19 Nejc Kožar 196 Setter 22 Bryan Camino Martinez 190 Wing spiker 99 Liam Klinger 185 Wing spiker 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
MEVZA League Runners-up (2): 2020–21, 2023–24
References
External links Official website