Montana recorded another success in WINBET Super Volley, after decisively defeating Beroe 2016 (Stara Zagora) with 3:0 (25:18, 25:18, 25:18) in a match from the fourth round of the men's championship. The team from Stara Zagora continues to search for their first victory of the season, while the hosts demonstrated an impressive block game.
The match took place in the Mladost hall in Montana and lasted only 74 minutes. Dimitar Bozhilov's players controlled the match, winning all three sets with the same score.
In the first part, the guests took an 8:7 lead, but Montana turned the score around and by the second technical timeout already had a 16:10 lead. The hosts increased their advantage to 21:16 and closed the set with 25:18.
A similar scenario unfolded in the second part. Beroe again started better and took an 8:5 lead, but Montana gradually asserted their superiority. After 16:12 and 21:16, they finished the set with 25:18.
In the third part, the hosts did not allow the opponent to take the initiative. Montana took an 8:3 lead, maintained a comfortable advantage, and put an end to the dispute after another 25:18.
Brazilian Joao Victor led Montana
The most effective player for the winners was the Brazilian Joao Victor dos Santos Lima with 15 points. He made 9 successful attacks with 56% efficiency, added 4 aces and 2 blocks.
Timofey Benkovich finished with 11 points, an impressive 5 of which came from blocks. Bruno Rubbo also distinguished himself with the same number of successful blocks, finishing the match with 10 points.
Kostadin Kozelov and Nikolay Ivanov added 8 points each, with the former making 3 blocks and achieving 71% attack efficiency.
For Beroe, Teodor Kamenkov and Jakub Zonka were the most effective with 8 points each, and Nikolay Kotev added 7.
19 blocks against only 4 – the key to victory
The most impressive statistic from the match was undoubtedly the blocking game. Montana scored a total of 19 points from this element against only 4 for the team from Stara Zagora.
Already in the first set, the hosts recorded 7 successful blocks, and in the next two parts, they added 6 each.
This means that more than a quarter of all 75 points for the winners came directly from blocks.
In attack, Montana also had an advantage – 31 points scored with 41% efficiency against 26 points and only 29% for the guests.
On serve, the hosts recorded 6 aces against 5 for Beroe.
A particularly serious problem for the team from Stara Zagora was Teodor Kamenkov's attack. He scored only 8 out of 31 attempts (26%), with as many as 6 of his attacks being stopped by the opponent's block. Jakub Zonka also experienced difficulties, as 6 of his 18 attacks were blocked.
These statistics explain the hosts' categorical superiority and the lack of real intrigue in the final moments of the three sets.
For Montana, this success is another important step at the start of the championship, while Beroe remains without a win and will have to find a solution to their attacking problems before the next round.
