Bulgarian women's volleyball champion Maritsa (Plovdiv) lost their first quarter-final match in the CEV Cup against Italian Igor Gorgonzola (Novara) 0:3 (20:25, 13:25, 19:25). The match was played today in the Igor Gorgonzola hall in Novara.

The hosts took a 6:4 lead, but Maritsa managed to equalize at 11:11. With an excellent performance from Borislava Saykova and her teammates on the court, Maritsa played absolutely evenly for most of the first set, but after leading 19:18, they suffered a lapse in concentration and allowed the opponent to score six consecutive points on Maja Aleksic's serves, leading to a set point at 24:19. For Igor Gorgonzola, it was only a matter of time to close the set, which they did at 25:20 after an unforced error by the Bulgarians.

Aleksic continued to trouble Maritsa with her serves at the beginning of the second set, and the hosts quickly pulled ahead 7:1. The Italian team continued their total dominance, with coach Lorenzo Bernardi even allowing himself to substitute most of his starters. Saykova remained the most persistent on the Bulgarian side of the net, but this was not enough for more than 13:25 at the end of the set.

Maritsa entered the third set strongly, thanks to four aces (three of which were consecutive) by Lora Slavcheva, and took a 6:0 lead. In attack, Iva Dudova began to cope with the opponent's block, and Plovdiv increased the lead to 9:2. The hosts responded with a four-point run, scored from Tatiana Tolok's serves, which brought Igor Gorgonzola back into the set. Maritsa continued to lead until 17:13, after which they again showed their weakness in allowing comebacks in the last third of the sets. With Valentina Bartolucci behind the service line, the hosts scored eight consecutive points and practically secured a clean victory. With a counter by Francesca Villani, they closed the set and the match 25:19.

Borislava Saykova was the most effective for Maritsa with 13 points, Iva Dudova added 8, and Vanessa Agbortabi contributed 6.
For the Italian team, Tatiana Tolok was the most effective with 23 points, and she was also chosen as the MVP of the match.

The return match is on February 18th in Kolodruma Hall in Plovdiv.