Bulgaria's national volleyball team showed character and returned to winning ways in the Volleyball Nations League. After the painful defeat to Belgium a day earlier, Gianlorenzo Blengini's squad decisively beat Germany 3-0 and recorded their first success in the tournament.
Immediately after the last point, the mood in the Bulgarian camp was drastically different. Players and coaching staff unanimously agreed that the biggest victory was the psychological reaction after the disappointment of the previous day.

Iliya Petkov: The most important thing was the reaction after yesterday's loss

Middle blocker Iliya Petkov admitted that the defeat to Belgium was a serious lesson for the team.

"Yesterday we came out with the mindset that perhaps we could control the match and that it wouldn't be that difficult, but it turned out to be completely different. It was extremely important today to overcome what happened."

Petkov highlighted his teammates' performance in defense, as well as Aleksandar Nikolov's play.

"The large number of defended balls was extremely important. Most of all, Alex performed great."

The middle blocker also drew attention to their block play.

"We didn't have many direct blocks, but we touched a lot of balls. We still have reserves in this element, but we did a good enough job."

According to him, the decisive success is important not only for self-confidence but also for the upcoming matches.

"I'm very happy it was 3-0, so we can be fresher for the next match and psychologically move on from yesterday's disappointment."

Simeon Nikolov: Yesterday I didn't do my job well enough

Setter Simeon Nikolov made a frank analysis of his own performance.

"Yesterday I played a very weak match. My job is to give comfortable balls to Alex. I didn't do it well enough, and we lost. Today I succeeded a bit more and performed my tasks better."

The young national player believes that the team still has significant reserves in one of the most important elements of the game.

"We are a team that relies heavily on serving. Our entire game revolves around it – to make reception difficult, then play with a triple block, and organize a counterattack. This is the element we need to improve."

Despite the convincing victory, Nikolov refused to look too far ahead.

"We expect to play well against Argentina, but we also expected a win against Belgium. That's why we need to show our qualities on the court."

Alex Nikolov: This is a win worth two

The top-scoring Bulgarian player also emphasized the importance of the success.

There was huge disappointment yesterday because we missed a very important match for us. We definitively wanted to show a different face of the national team, and we did.

According to the outside hitter, the victory comes at a very important moment for the team.

This is a victory worth two. If we had started the week with two losses, it would have been very tough for the team.

Alex Nikolov also commented on the upcoming match against Argentina.

A friendly match and an official match are completely different things. I believe we are the better team and in better form, but that doesn't matter on paper. Quality is shown on the court.

Damyan Kolev: We played more consistently

Libero Damyan identified consistency as the main difference compared to the match against Belgium.

Today we played better and more consistently in all three sets. We deservedly won 3-0.

He declined to evaluate his own performance but emphasized that he always strives to give his maximum.

I always give my all – in every match and in every set.

Blengini: True mentality is seen in difficult moments

Head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini was pleased with the team's reaction after the loss to Belgium.

Every match has its own story. The teams that achieve results are those that manage to understand what kind of match it is on a given day and don't lose concentration.

The Italian specialist also gave his definition of the mentality he wants to see in his squad.

The most important thing is not to lose clarity of thought when you are in a difficult situation. Even when you are winning, there are moments of difficulty. You must be ready for them.

Blengini expects another tough battle against Argentina.

They have an excellent combination of young and experienced players. Friendly matches don't matter. Official matches are a completely different thing, and we must be ready for that.

After their first victory, Bulgaria looks with more confidence towards the next challenge. The national team managed to put the disappointment from Belgium behind them, but they are aware that the toughest tests are yet to come. Against Argentina, they will have the opportunity not only to solidify the good impression from the success against Germany but also to show that they have indeed learned their lessons from the first match in the tournament.