The Bulgarian women's national under-18 team came within a step of the European Championship semifinals after dramatically losing to Hungary with a score of 2:3 (25:22, 25:22, 18:25, 22:25, 15:17) in their last group stage match in Šiauliai (Lithuania).
Atanas Petrov's girls started excellently and took a 2:0 lead in sets, looking very close to the much-needed victory. After losing the third set, in the fourth set, the Bulgarians showed character, overcame an 8:15 deficit, and turned the score to 21:19. However, instead of taking the final step to a 3:1 success, the national team lost the next six out of seven rallies, conceded with 22:25, and allowed the match to be decided in a tie-break.
The final minutes of the match were the most dramatic. Bulgaria reached three match points in the decisive set but failed to convert any of them. The Hungarians survived the critical moments, turned the tide, and won the tie-break 17:15, and with it, the match. The most painful part is that with a 3:1 victory, the Bulgarians would have overtaken Hungary in the final standings and qualified for the semifinals. Instead, the opponent's comeback secured second place for the Hungarians, and Bulgaria remained out of the medal contention.
Thus, our national team finished in fourth place in the final group standings with four wins and three losses.
The top scorer for Bulgaria was Edna Todorova with 28 points, Bozhidara Ivanova added 17, and Katerina Popov finished with 15 points. For the winners, Anna Zsombor was outstanding in the match with 31 points.