Bulgaria began the defense of their European U18 women's title with a dramatic 2:3 (25:23, 15:25, 18:25, 32:30, 12:15) loss to Germany in their first match of the championship in Siauliai, Lithuania. The game lasted an impressive 148 minutes and became one of the most dramatic since the start of the tournament.
The Bulgarians started the match excellently and managed to take a 1:0 lead after a 42-minute first set. After that, however, the Germans imposed their tempo and, with scores of 25:15 and 25:18, turned the result to 2:1 sets.
The most dramatic moment occurred in the fourth set. Our national team seemed a sure winner with a 23:17 lead but allowed a series of six consecutive points, and Germany equalized at 23:23. Bulgaria, however, showed character. Our players saved three match points, and after missing three opportunities to close the set, on their fourth attempt, following an ace, they managed to win 32:30 and send the match into a tie-break.
The decisive fifth set started better for the Germans, who took leads of 3:1 and 4:2. Thanks to Katerina Popova's successful plays, Bulgaria turned the tide and went ahead 10:8. A new turnaround followed – Germany equalized, and after an out-of-bounds attack by the Bulgarians, took a 12:10 lead. An attack into the net extended the German lead to 13:10. Our national team reduced the deficit to 13:12 after a successful block, but then an attack with a block-out led to the first match point at 14:12. The match concluded at 15:12 after a long rally won by the German team.
Statistics show that Germany was the more effective team in key elements. The Germans finished with 68 attack points against 47 for Bulgaria, scored 11 aces against 5, had 41% attack efficiency against 32% for the Bulgarian squad, and 64% positive reception against 58% for our team. Bulgaria had a slight advantage in blocks – 10 against 9 successful blocks.

Although Bulgaria scored a total of 41 points from German errors, with the opponent conceding 17 points in the fourth set alone, the 21-point difference in attack and the six additional aces in favor of Germany proved decisive. The Bulgarians compensated with better blocking play, but it was not enough for success. Bozhidara Ivanova was the top scorer for Bulgaria with 16 points, followed by Katerina Popova with 15 and Edna Todorova with 14. The top scorer of the match was Germany's Sofia Thuss with 19 points. In the second round of the European Championship, Bulgaria will face the Netherlands. The match is tomorrow at 12:30 PM Bulgarian time.