Alexander Nikolov was among the main figures in Bulgaria's dramatic fourth victory in the Volleyball Nations League. After the 3:2 win over Canada, the outside hitter spoke to VolleyWeek about the difficult match, Denislav Bardarov's excellent contribution, controversial referee decisions, the upcoming match against Ukraine, and the fight for a place in the final tournament.
Alex, a fourth victory in the VNL, and that after another turbulent match. How did you see it from the court?
As a colleague said - we made a cake from not particularly high-quality ingredients. Today the situation was quite difficult, but despite all the turbulence, we managed to get two very valuable points. The most important thing is the victory against an opponent we hadn't beaten for years. I am very happy and proud of the team.
Denislav Bardarov's excellent contribution...
Absolutely. He turned the match around for us. He managed to come in exactly when we were struggling the most. Big kudos to him. Even before the match, I told him I had a feeling he would come in today and make a difference. He just smiled at me, I don't know if he believed me, but that's exactly how it turned out.
The difficult part was that just yesterday you let a won match against Slovenia slip away. What do you think caused that comeback from 20:16?
There was certainly a drop in concentration. But we also have to acknowledge that Slovenia did a very good job. It's not that we made direct errors or that they stopped us with monstrous blocks. They dug up many balls in defense, touched the ball on the block, and then executed their counter-attacks. That must also be acknowledged. The important thing is that we managed to win today, because the opposite could have happened - to lose 0:3, as has happened to us in the past, or as we lost the tie-break against Slovenia. We're looking ahead to the next match.
Was there any special conversation with Simeon Nikolov to prevent some situations from repeating, especially with carries?
Honestly, I don't know what's going on with this rule. It's not serious. It's called when the referee decides. Half the situations aren't called, the other half are, and with us, it always happens after the 20th point. I don't think it's right. The people responsible for the rules should sit down and decide - either it's allowed, or it's not. Not everything can depend on the subjective judgment of the referees. And today, honestly, almost all controversial situations were called against us.
Next is a match with Ukraine, which is currently fourth in the provisional standings.
It will be a bloody battle. We won't lack motivation. The question is whether we'll have enough strength left. I hope that since Denislav managed to contribute so well today, he'll be able to help again tomorrow. This way we'll distribute the workload better. I also hope for a contribution from Marti Atanasov, who managed to rest more today.
We're all talking about points and the standings now. Do you have a feeling that Bulgaria can reach the final tournament?
Absolutely. I believe we have a chance to qualify for the finals. We have five matches left, from which we need to win three. We still have room for error. We have a great opportunity, that's the truth. Everything hinges on the match with Ukraine. If we get points and wins, everything remains possible.
Just to remind you, back in 2024 you said we would beat Germany and Slovenia at the World Championship. You turned out to be a good prophet. Hopefully, it will be the same now.
Hopefully. I hope so.
