The Bulgarian U18 national team continues its excellent performance at the European Championship in Latvia and Lithuania. Atanas Petrov's selection recorded a third consecutive victory after convincingly defeating hosts Lithuania 3:0 (25:21, 25:18, 25:10) in a fourth-round match in Group II, played in Šiauliai.
After an even start to the first set, the Bulgarians gradually asserted their superiority and, with more stable play in the decisive rallies, took the lead. The second set started impressively for our team, which quickly built a significant lead and, despite a brief attempt by the Lithuanians to get back into the set, doubled their advantage without difficulty.
Bulgaria's superiority was most evident in the third set. After a brief tie in the opening points, the young "lionesses" took full control of the match, left the hosts far behind, and ended the match with a convincing 25:10.
With the win, Bulgaria accumulated 10 points after three victories and one loss, ranking second in the provisional standings, just one point behind leaders Germany. The top two teams in the group will qualify for the championship's final four.
Katerina Popova was once again the top scorer for the Bulgarian team with 15 points, including 2 aces. Bozhidara Ivanova added 11 points, scoring 3 aces. For Lithuania, only Nida Jočytė finished with a double-digit tally – 11 points.
Bulgaria's next challenge is on Sunday (July 6), when our national team will face last-placed Finland. The match starts at 12:30 PM Bulgarian time.

photo: cev.eu