Ljubljana. The Bulgarian national team missed an opportunity to record a second victory in the second tournament of the Volleyball Nations League, which is taking place in the Slovenian capital. Gianlorenzo Blengini's players took a 2:1 lead in sets, but allowed a comeback and lost to hosts Slovenia 2:3 (25:19, 21:25, 25:17, 24:26, 6:15) in their second match of the tournament in Group 6 in Ljubljana. Thus, the hosts took a kind of revenge for their loss in the group stage of last year's World Championship, when Bulgaria defeated them 3:2.
Bulgaria earned one point, which, however, was not enough for a place in the Top 8 of the tournament. After the match, the "Lions" occupy 10th place in the VNL provisional standings, while maintaining their 8th position in the world rankings, losing only 2.56 points from their total.
Excellent start and strong first set
The Bulgarians started confidently and after an even start, took a 5:3 lead after an attack and an ace by Asparuh Asparuhov. The national team's serve caused serious problems for the Slovenians, and Iliya Petkov also scored an ace for 8:5.
After the hosts tied at 15:15, Aleksandar Nikolov responded strongly, scoring two consecutive aces and restoring Bulgaria's lead. Until the end, the "Lions" were dominant, with Alex Grozdanov and Martin Atanasov shaping the convincing 25:19.
Slovenia equalized after a series of blocks
In the second set, the Slovenians started much more aggressively on the block and took a 6:2 lead. Bulgaria managed to tie at 6:6, but a series of three direct points from service and excellent blocking gave the hosts a new advantage.
Although the national team reduced the deficit to 19:21 thanks to a strong serve by Alex Nikolov and an excellent block by Martin Atanasov, Slovenia did not relinquish the initiative and closed the set with 25:21.
Bulgaria dominates the third set
The third set was one of the strongest for Blengini's team in the tournament. The Bulgarians pulled ahead early with an 11:6 lead, with Martin Atanasov, Alex Grozdanov, and Iliya Petkov doing excellent work.
Moni Nikolov diversified the play, and Bulgaria's attack was almost flawless. After a counter by the setter and a pipe attack by Martin Atanasov, the lead became insurmountable, and the set ended at 25:17.
Missed fourth set
The fourth set proved to be the turning point of the match.
Bulgaria controlled the game's development and took the lead with20:16, and a little later had the chance to close out the match. The Slovenians, however, gradually caught up thanks to Nik Mujanović and Rok Bračko.
At24:24the hosts showed more composure, scored two consecutive points, and snatched the set with26:24, sending the match to a tie-break. A crucial error by Moni Nikolov, who was called for a held ball at a very important moment, also weighed heavily.
Tie-break only for the hosts
In the decisive fifth set, the Slovenians established complete superiority from the very beginning. After 3:3, they went on a run to 9:3, with their blocking practically disarming the Bulgarian attack.
Until the end, the hosts did not allow a comeback and won the tie-break with15:6, and with that, the match.
Alex Nikolov was once again the leader of Bulgaria
The outside hitter played another impressive match with 28 points (including 5 aces), becoming the top scorer of the encounter.
Asparuh Asparuhov added 13 points, while Iliya Petkov contributed 9.
Scorers for Bulgaria
| Player | Points | Attack | Block | Ace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleksandar Nikolov | 28 | 23 | 0 | 5 |
| Asparuh Asparuhov | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| Martin Atanasov | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| Iliya Petkov | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Alex Grozdanov | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Simeon Nikolov | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Bulgaria had a clear leader in Aleksandar Nikolov, who scored over a quarter of all the team's points. Four other players finished with between 8 and 13 points, which shows good distribution in attack. In the tie-break, however, the offense lost effectiveness, and the lack of a second consistent scorer proved crucial.
Team Statistics
| Indicator | Slovenia | Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 44 | 56 |
| Block | 17 | 8 |
| Ace | 5 | 12 |
| Points from opponent's errors | 36 | 25 |
| Total points | 102 | 101 |
| Digs in defense | 45 | 62 |
The statistics show how painful the defeat is for Bulgaria. The nationals surpassed their opponent in attack (56:44), on serve (12:5), and in digs in defense (62:45). The difference came at the block, where the Slovenians had a huge advantage (17:8), as well as from significantly more points that came after errors by the Bulgarian team (36 versus 25). The overall point ratio is also indicative H102:101for Slovenia, which perfectly illustrates how evenly matched the game was. Nevertheless, there remains a bitter taste for a lost match, partly due to wrong decisions by key players, partly due to the possibility that the match could have been managed differently.
Tomorrow our team rests, and on Saturday we play Canada at 17:30.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
