Bulgaria finished the preliminary phase of the U17 Boys' World Championship in Doha with a perfect record. Ivan Stanev's national team achieved their third consecutive victory after defeating Turkey 3:1 and securing a higher position in the overall standings before the round of 16. This is their second success against our southern neighbor within a month, after we beat them 3:2 in the Balkan Championship final.
After 3:0 victories over Egypt and 3:1 over Spain, the Bulgarian team once again showed character, this time having to overcome difficult moments against Turkey.
The start of the match was not good for Bulgaria, and the Turks had a three-point lead several times. Gradually, our players stabilized their game, and after the middle of the set, a long chase began – 14:14, 15:15, 16:16, and 17:17. An attack by Pavlov brought the score to 20:20, and then the excellently playing middle blocker Ilov came onto the scene. He recorded two consecutive aces for 22:20.
Turkey responded and equalized at 22:22, but Sali once again gave Bulgaria the lead. After another tie, Pavlov secured the first set point, and Milko Bagdasarov ended the set with a block for 1:0.
The second set also started evenly, but after 10:10, the initiative shifted to Turkey. The opponent gradually built up a lead, and after a block against the Bulgarian attack, the score became 15:19. Several errors by our players followed, and the difference reached 16:21. The Turks did not let go of their lead and closed the set with a block for 18:25, leveling the score.
Bulgaria's response was emphatic. Bagdasarov went to serve at the beginning of the third set, and with his strong serves, he helped the team take a 4:0 lead. The national team not only maintained the lead but increased it to 12:7 after an ace by the captain. Ilov followed his example, and a direct point from a serve made the score 14:9.
However, Turkey did not give up. The opponent first reduced the deficit to two points, and then came within just one at 17:16. At the crucial moment, Bulgaria once again stepped up. The trio Bagdasarov – Ilov – Sali played a key role in our team regaining control of the set. Sali made an important attack at the end, and Ilov finished the set with an ace, and Bulgaria took the lead again – 2:1.
The fourth set started as desired – 6:2 for Bulgaria. The Turks reacted and managed to equalize, after which the game went through several turnovers. Ivan Stanev's national team pulled ahead by two, three, and even four points several times, and Turkey invariably managed to close the gap.
Bulgaria reached 22:16 and it seemed they would calmly close out the match, but a final Turkish surge followed – 22:19 and 22:20. This time, our players did not allow an equalization. Bagdasarov finished a pipe for 23:20, and after a strong Bulgarian serve and a successful counter-attack, Sali secured match point.
The last word once again belonged to Ilov. The middle blocker, who had an exceptionally strong match both at the net and from the serve, ended the match in the most emphatic way – with an ace.
Thus, Bulgaria concluded the group stage with three wins from three matches – 3:0 against Egypt, 3:1 against Spain, and 3:1 against Turkey. The national team won their group and, with their excellent record, secured a higher seeding among the 16 teams for the knockout phase of the World Cup in Qatar.

Bulgaria won the match mostly at the net and from serve. The national team had an advantage in attack – 46:40, in blocks – 14:8, and in aces – 9:6. The difference in blocks was particularly significant, where Bulgaria scored 6 more points. At the same time, our team gave away significantly more points – Turkey received 33 points from Bulgarian errors against 24 for Bulgaria.

photo:volleyballworld.com