Head coach Antonina Zetova and part of the team spoke to journalists upon the return of the European champions to Sofia.

Toni Zetova:

“Before we left, I said I wouldn't reveal our goal. We all wanted to reach the final four. No one imagined we could get this far. We beat everyone, and Italy in the semi-final!
"Our big hurdle was the second match against Turkey. Turkey affected us psychologically. This victory and the success over Poland gave us faith in our abilities,” stated Antonina Zetova.
“How did we beat Italy? The behavior of our entire team throughout the tournament. I appealed for us to play point by point. To abstract ourselves from everything and everyone. Match by match. Situation by situation. This helped! And in other matches, we didn't give up either. I believe Italy already saw themselves as winners and stopped playing. They waited for us to make mistakes and beat ourselves. This helped us, and naturally, the girls' concentration,” she added.
“The loss to Hungary is not on the agenda. What we did in the end is important. It's good to celebrate, because this team, with its spirit and collective, made tremendous growth during the tournament. Our team showed that we have capacity. They are still children, girls. We still can't comprehend what happened. I ask the girls to look forward! Next year we will be in the role of favorite, you will have expectations of us,” the legendary Bulgarian volleyball player was categorical. “The path of these girls to the Bulgarian women's national team is huge. But such an award! Titles don't happen by chance, clearly this generation has talent! We celebrated moderately in the hall, on the bus we tried to rest,” Antonina Zetova concluded.

Captain Viktoria Ninova:

"We certainly haven't fully processed the success yet, but we are very happy about what we achieved and that after so long, Bulgaria is at the top in volleyball – Ninova pointed out. - In my opinion, the turning point was not the victory over Italy, but earlier in the group stage when we defeated Turkey and Poland. My favorite match is the one with Italy. I'm very glad we managed to turn it around. When we were trailing against the Italians in the tie-break, we told ourselves that we had to fight to the end and not give up, and that things would work out. There will certainly be the burden of expectations on us, and in the coming years we will have to build more and more, or at least maintain this level."

Dimana Ivanova - "Most Valuable Player" (MVP) of the championship:

"The emotions are incredible. I just can't describe them. Maybe we still can't truly understand what's happening. When we set off for the championship, our goal was actually first place. It couldn't be lower, because we knew our capabilities. But for the individual award – I didn't expect it. The victories over Italy in the three control matches gave us more confidence, but we certainly didn't underestimate them. In the tie-break against Italy, we were under enormous pressure, but we actually knew what we wanted and that we wanted to reach the final. We concentrated, gathered ourselves, and despite those four match points – we won."

Darina Naneva - #1 in the middle blocker position:

"My sweetest block was the last and winning point in the final. I didn't expect to win an individual award. My goal was to give my all and see what happens. We were all fired up for first place and believed we could achieve it. We believed in ourselves when we beat the three stronger teams in our group. Then we believed in ourselves and knew we would come first. It's important to be just as cohesive and stick together", commented Naneva.

Kalina Veneva - best second receiver:

"I feel great. The feeling is indescribable, and I still can't even realize that we managed to become European champions. It's great! The key to success is a lot of hard work, a lot of fighting, and a cohesive team. Our coach's instructions were mainly to be calm, not to worry, and to focus on the next point and the next ball. The match against Italy was indeed a turning point, but we shouldn't have relaxed against Belgium either. The individual award gives me courage, but winning it isn't the most important thing. The most important thing is that we became champions."said Veneva.