The Bulgarian national U18 team secured a spot in the semifinals of the European Championship in Italy after defeating the Czech Republic 3:0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:22). The victory guarantees Miroslav Zhivkov's proteges a place among the top four teams even before their last group stage match against Spain, and the team also maintains excellent chances to finish in first place.
The match started better for the Czech Republic, who took an early lead, but Bulgaria gradually took the initiative. The block started working excellently, and setter Velisov increasingly looked for middle blockers Ganev and Kosev. It was precisely the play through the middle that became one of the strongest weapons of the Bulgarian team throughout the entire match.
After building a 20:16 lead, the Bulgarians allowed their opponent to reduce the deficit to 20:19. This was followed by an attack error from the Czech Republic, a successful block, another attack through the middle, and a finishing attack by Nikola Gradinarov for 23:20. Another successful combination through the middle brought the first set point, and the first set concluded with a middle blocker's attack for 25:22. In this set, Bulgaria recorded 4 blocks against none for the Czech Republic, and one more ace.
The second set again started better for the Czechs, who took a 4:1 lead, and then 8:5 after problems with Bulgarian reception. However, the national team quickly stabilized their block and defense and equalized at 8:8. The game was evenly matched until the middle of the set, but after the 12th point, Bulgaria managed to pull away by two points again. An attack through the middle made the score 20:17, Kosev extended it to 23:19, and although the Czech Republic saved two set points, a service error ended the set at 25:22.
In the third set, Bulgaria started more confidently and after a series of opponent errors, took a lead of several points. The 3-4 point lead was maintained until 15:11, after which the Czech Republic twice made runs of three consecutive points and reduced the deficit to 18:17. After a timeout, Miroslav Zhivkov managed to calm the team, followed by successful attacks from Dzhenev and Gradinarov for 20:17. An ace from Veselinov extended the lead to 21:17, and after the timeout, Gradinarov made it 22:17. He also brought a 23:19 lead, and after a block, Bulgaria reached their first match point. The Czechs saved two, but on the third opportunity, Adrian Ganev ended the match for a final score of 25:22.
The statistics clearly show Bulgaria's superiority in the most important elements. The national team finished with 11 blocks against 8 for the Czech Republic, 7 aces against 3, as well as significantly better reception – 53% positive against 50% and 46% perfect against 27%. In attack, both teams were almost equal – 43% against 42%, but it was the quality reception that allowed Velisov to consistently use the middle blockers, which proved crucial for the final success.
| Statistic | Czech Republic | Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 42% (43 pts.) | 43% (39 pts.) |
| Blocks | 8 | 11 |
| Aces | 3 | 7 |
| Positive Reception | 50% | 53% |
| Perfect Reception | 27% | 46% |
| Service Errors | 10 | 7 |
| Points from Opponent Errors | 11 | 19 |
| Total Points Scored | 66 | 75 |
The numbers clearly show where Bulgaria made the difference. Superiority in blocking, serving, and most importantly, in reception allowed setter Nikola Velikov to constantly look for the middle blockers, where Ganev and Kosev were extremely effective. The top scorer for Bulgaria was Nikola Gradinarov with 14 points, Ganev added 12, and Kosev finished with 10. The other middle blocker - Pavel Dzhenev, added another 7 points for the victory. For the Czech Republic, only two players reached double-digit scores ", with 13 points each.
photo: cev.eu
