The Italian national team painfully accepted their 2:3 (25:18, 20:25, 23:25, 25:19, 9:15) defeat by Bulgaria in their first match of the second week of the Volleyball Nations League in Ljubljana. Despite the disappointment, the "Azzurri" camp remained optimistic before their next challenge against Ukraine.
Middle blocker Giovanni Sanguinetti, who scored 13 points and was Italy's second-highest scorer, believes the team showed character despite the unsuccessful outcome.
"We are satisfied with our reaction, especially after the second set when Bulgaria put us under serious pressure. In the end, we managed to get back into the score, and that's a good sign. The finish, however, was not what we expected, but there are good things that we need to keep," commented Sanguinetti.
He emphasized that before the match against Ukraine, Italy primarily needs to improve their serving.
"Against Ukraine, we must show the right attitude and never give up. We have elements that we need to improve, such as serve management. The next match will be a good opportunity to take a step forward."
After the match, middle blocker Leandro Mosca also spoke, who returned as a starter for the national team and did not hide his emotions.
"The feeling of returning as a starter with the national team jersey was fantastic. In the first set, our impressions of the game were very good, but then we experienced a dip and lost the second and third sets. I believe we could have performed better."
According to Mosca, Italy showed a different face in the fourth set when they managed to impose their rhythm.
"In the fourth set, we found our game again and everything went much better because we showed the necessary aggression in the decisive moments."
Despite the defeat, the 24-year-old volleyball player remains confident in the team's potential.
"We know what we need to do against Ukraine, and we must start exactly with those things. We have a full squad and solutions for all positions. We just need to play better, and I am confident that we can show it as early as the match against Ukraine."
After the unexpected loss to Bulgaria's young squad, the European champions will seek immediate rehabilitation in their very next match of the tournament in Ljubljana.
