Bulgarian middle blocker Krasimir Georgiev distinguished himself with four successful blocks in Rapid Bucharest's 3:1 (23:25, 25:21, 25:18, 25:14) away victory over CSM Bucharest in the second leg of the Romanian Cup round of 16.
After winning the first match 3:0, Rapid achieved a second success over their capital city rival and qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Georgiev finished the match with 7 points, making four successful blocks, scoring two points from two attacks for 100% efficiency, and adding one ace. The Bulgarian did not make a single error in his six serves.
With his four blocks, he was Rapid's most effective player in this element. In total, the team recorded 11 successful blocks, with more than a third of them being made by the Bulgarian middle blocker.
Mateusz Jozwik was the top scorer for the winners with 15 points, followed by Sebastian Miku with 11. Bradley Gunter added 8, while Georgiev and Luca Martonos finished with 7 points each.
The hosts started better and won the first set 25:23, but then Rapid gradually asserted their dominance. The visitors equalized after 25:21 in the second set, and in the next two, they left their opponent with 18 and 14 points respectively.
Rapid's serve proved to be a significant advantage. The visitors scored 10 aces against only one for CSM Bucharest. In blocks, the difference was minimal – 11:10, but four of the successful plays in this element were by Georgiev.
In the quarterfinals, Rapid will face Arcada Galati, who enters this phase of the competition directly.