The Bulgarian national team finished the first week of the Volleyball Nations League with a record of 2 wins, 2 losses, and 6 points, and the performance of the "Lions" was reflected in the individual rankings of the tournament.
Most impressive is the performance of Aleksandar Nikolov, who leads two of the most prestigious statistical rankings after all matches of the first week have been played.

Nikolov is No. 1 among scorers

Bulgaria's outside hitter is the leader among top scorers with a total of 96 points, of which 87 are from attack, 5 from block, and 4 directly from serve. Slovenia's Nik Mujanović with 89 points and Belgium's Ferre Reggers with 77 points remain behind him.
He is the only Bulgarian representative in the Top 10 scorers after the first four matches of the tournament.
Analysis of the statistics shows a serious difference between Nikolov and the other attackers in the tournament. The Bulgarian international is not only the most prolific player but also maintains high efficiency in all elements of the game.

Leader among attackers as well

Aleksandar Nikolov is also at the top of the ranking for best attackers. He has 87 points from attack with an impressive 58.39% success rate.
Second again is Nik Mujanović with 81 points and 52.26%, and third is Belgium's Ferre Reggers with 73 points and 44.79%.
The data highlights Nikolov's role as the main weapon in Bulgaria's attack. His success rate is significantly higher than that of the other leading scorers.

Behind Aleksandar Nikolov's first place among scorers and attackers are impressive figures in each of the four matches. The Bulgarian international finished the week with 87 points from attack at 58.39% efficiency, never falling below 57% attack efficiency. His strongest match was against Argentina, where he scored 27 points from attack, and against Iran he reached 63% efficiency. His contribution in reception is also impressive, where against Argentina he recorded 76% positive reception.

Grozdanov in Top 5 blockers

Bulgaria's captain Alex Grozdanov also finds a place among the best in the tournament. The middle blocker shares fifth position with 9 points from block, which averages 2.25 successful blocks per match.
The leader is Canada's Jackson Howat with 16 blocks, followed by Slovenia's Rok Možič and Ukraine's Yurii Semeniuk with 12 each.
Grozdanov solidifies his status as one of the most reliable middle blockers in the tournament and is a key factor in Bulgaria's net play.

Two Bulgarians among the best servers

Aleksandar Nikolov and Asparuh Asparuhov share sixth place in the best server ranking. Both have 4 aces each, or an average of one direct point serve per match.
The leader is Ukraine's Dmytro Yanchuk with 13 aces.
Statistics show that the Bulgarian team has several dangerous servers, which creates additional problems for the opponent's reception.

Simeon Nikolov among leading setters

The young setter Simeon Nikolov ranks eighth among setters with 107 accurate sets and 38.63% success rate.
The leader is Olympic champion Fernando Kreling from Brazil with 143 accurate sets and 51.07%.
Simeon Nikolov's presence in the Top 10 is further proof of his rapid development at the highest international level.

Damyan Kolev impresses in defense and reception.

Libero Damyan Kolev also ranks among the best in the Nations League. He is ninth among defenders with 28 saved balls and a 56.00% success rate.
The leader is Italian Gabriele Laurenzano with 44 saved balls and 55.00%.
Kolev is also in the Top 10 for receivers, sharing tenth place with 19 perfect receptions and a 23.17% success rate. In this ranking, Laurenzano is also at the top with 39 perfect receptions and 33.91%.
The performance of the Bulgarian libero is particularly valuable given the strong competition in the tournament and shows stability in the two most important elements of playing this position.

A total of six Bulgarian national players found a place among the best in the individual rankings after the first week of the Nations League, which is a clear indicator of the team's potential and a good start to the 2025 campaign.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov