Bulgaria forged a very valuable victory against the strong team of Turkey at the European Championship for U18 girls in Heraklion (Greece). Antonina Zetova's girls took revenge for their 0:3 loss in the Balkan Championship final, winning today with 3:1 (25:22, 25:21, 1:25, 25:23). The first game started with mutual errors from both teams, with Zetova calling the first timeout at 6:8. Turkey took an 11:8 lead, but strong serving from our team and several good plays at the net made the score 11:12. The teams battled fiercely, with our team leveling at 18:18. Again, good blocking helped us take the lead at the end of the game. After a middle attack, our team took a two-point advantage at 22:20. The Bulgarians finished the game in their favor after a perfectly served ball into zone 4, which was finished by Dimana Ivanova. The second game went point for point, and after 9:9, Turkey pulled ahead to 9:13, forcing Antonina Zetova to call a timeout. After good serves from Kalina Veneva and a good block, the score was leveled at 15:15. A series of ties followed, after which our team pulled ahead at the end of the game, which they closed again after a good serve and an attack from zone 4. The third game was dominated by Turkey after a subsequent lapse in our ranks. Our southern neighbors took the lead from the very beginning and did not relinquish the initiative, with the score at one point swelling to a 10-point lead for Turkey. In the fourth game, the teams battled intensely at the start, with our team not allowing the opponent to pull away. The first timeout for Bulgaria came at 9:12, and Zetova took the second timeout at 15:19. Gradually, our girls put pressure on, alternating good plays and strong serves. The block also started working, and after a solo block, we leveled at 20:20. After good net play from Kalina Veneva and a perfect double block, our team pulled ahead 22:21. Another clever tip from Veneva made the score 23:22, followed by a double block, giving us two match points. The first was missed after poor defense during our block, but the final word belonged to Vyara Parapunova, who smashed the winning point in the match, which lasted 108 minutes. Bulgaria finished with 4 aces, the same as Turkey. Kalina Veneva was the top scorer for the Bulgarians with 18 points (1 ace, 2 blocks), Darina Naneva added 9 (1 ace, 2 blocks), and Denitsa Angelova scored 8 (including 1 ace). For the opponent, Ceylin Kuyan finished with 19 points (1 ace), and Ceyda Kuyan scored 13 points (1 ace). Thus, our team has two wins before their match tomorrow against the strong team of Poland at 12:00 PM Bulgarian time.