Bulgaria national team captain Alex Grozdanov did not hide his satisfaction after the valuable 3:1 (25:20, 18:25, 25:23, 25:17) victory over Ukraine in the last match of the second week tournament of the Volleyball Nations League in Ljubljana. The middle blocker admitted that after three consecutive five-set matches, the physical fatigue was enormous, but it was precisely the good atmosphere and positive mood that helped the team find strength for the win.
– Alex, congratulations on the victory! You managed to achieve an extremely important success. How did you find the strength after three five-set matches and almost no time to rest?
– Thank you! We talked a lot in the locker room before the match. We were all aware of the fatigue, the lack of sleep, and that our energy wasn't at its highest level. We told ourselves that the most important thing was to have fun on the court. Until now, we hadn't been able to break this streak of three five-set matches. We said we had nothing to lose and could only take a step forward.
– Where do you think you broke Ukraine?
– I think after the second set. Even though they managed to equalize after our very good first set, we remained calm. There was a lot of positivity among the players, and we managed to impose our game. We hadn't beaten Ukraine for a long time. Last year in Burgas, we lost to them, even when they were without Oleg Plotnytskyi, and now, with him in their squad, we managed to win a very important victory.
– This victory brings you a step closer to participating in the final tournament in China.
– Let's leave China alone for now. We have another tournament ahead, and first, we need to recover. Now we have a little more time before the third week. I hope we show the same game in Chicago, and why not an even better one.
– For the first time in a long time, your substitutions had such a significant effect. How do you view this?
– This is completely normal. We are the youngest team here, and it takes time for all these things to start working. The players coming off the bench are becoming more confident. Over time, even more guys will be able to help, and that will make the team even stronger.
