The Bulgarian national team took a huge step towards qualifying for the Final Eight of the Nations League. Gianlorenzo Blengini's proteges defeated host USA 3:1 (27:25, 22:25, 26:24, 25:18) in their third match of the tournament in Group 8 in Chicago and climbed to 6th place in the VNL provisional standings. The Bulgarians played in front of a packed Now Arena in Chicago, where thousands of our compatriots came to support the national team.
The success brought Bulgaria 11.61 points for the FIVB world ranking list, with which the "Lions" displaced Turkey and now occupy 9th place in the world. In the Nations League standings, the Bulgarian team also overtook the Turks, with both teams having 7 wins, but Bulgaria has one more point. In the last match of the VNL preliminary stage, Bulgaria faces France, and a victory over the "Roosters" would send us to Ningbo, China. The situation is reminiscent of VNL 2025, when our team was also one win away from the finals.
The match offered an exceptionally high level and many dramatic moments. The Bulgarians showed character in key situations, snatching the first and third sets after tense finishes, and completely outplaying the Americans in the fourth part.
The first set featured constant turnarounds. After the USA led by three points several times, the Bulgarians invariably found a way to come back. At 25:25, Iliya Petkov scored a direct point from a serve, and then Aleksandar Nikolov finished an important counter-attack for 26:25, with which Bulgaria closed the set at 27:25.
The Americans managed to equalize the score after capitalizing on several Bulgarian errors at the end of the second set. Bulgaria overcame a four-point deficit and even led 21:20 after an ace by Aleksandar Nikolov, but the hosts won the last rallies and equalized at 25:22.
The third set proved decisive for the outcome of the match. Bulgaria controlled much of its development, but the USA managed to turn it around to 21:19. It was then that a new strong run by the "Lions" followed with an excellent block, stable serve, and an impeccable Aleksandar Nikolov in attack. Bulgaria won 26:24 after a single block by Iliya Petkov.
Buoyed by the lead, the Bulgarian national team completely dominated the fourth set. After 10:10, a series of excellent serves and blocks followed, which broke the Americans. The difference quickly grew to 21:14, and Bulgaria convincingly closed the match with 25:18.
Statistics confirmed the superiority of the Bulgarian team. The national players scored more points in attack (51:49), and their most serious weapon was blocking, where they crushed their opponent 14:5. Both teams recorded 10 direct points from serves, while the Americans received a slight advantage from opponent errors (28:25). Bulgaria finished with 100 scored points against 92 for the USA.
Team statistics
| Category | USA | Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 49 | 51 |
| Block | 5 | 14 |
| Serve | 10 | 10 |
| Points from opponent errors | 28 | 25 |
| Total points | 92 | 100 |
| Digs | 66 | 61 |
| Reception | 80 | 78 |
Bulgaria compensated for a minimal deficit in defense and reception with a decisive superiority in blocking and more effective attack. The 14 block points against only 5 for the Americans became the key factor for the victory. Aleksandar Nikolov was once again outstanding. Bulgaria's star scored an impressive 32 points, including 27 in attack, 3 aces, and 2 successful blocks. Asparuhov added 12 points, Bardarov finished with 10, Grozdanov scored 9, and Iliya Petkov and Simeon Nikolov concluded with 6 and 5 points respectively. For the USA, the top scorers were Haines with 19 and Anderson with 17 points.
photo:volleyballworld.com
