The Bulgarian women's national U20 team started its participation in the European qualification in Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) with a loss. The team led by Denislav Dimitrov lost to Turkey 0:3 (23:25, 17:25, 24:26) in their first match of the tournament.
Bulgaria showed good play in significant periods of the match and had its opportunities in the first and third sets, but the errors made in crucial moments, especially after the 20th point, proved key to the final result.
For the match, head coach Denislav Dimitrov started with Antonia Stanislavova, Liyana Vasileva, Tsvetomira Velcheva, Edna Todorova, Katerina Popova, Bozhidara Ivanova, and libero Nikol Stefanova.
Our national team started the match excellently. Strong serving and well-organized blocking allowed Bulgaria to take a 12:7 lead. Gradually, Turkey found its rhythm, reduced the deficit to 14:15, and at 17:17, the score was already tied.
The Turkish team was the first to reach a set point opportunity at 24:22. Bulgaria saved the first, but in the next rally, an attack error gave the set to the opponent with 25:23.
The second set remained even until the middle, after which Turkey began to create serious difficulties for the Bulgarian reception. This also affected the organization of the attack, and the opponent gradually built up a lead and won convincingly 25:17 for a 2:0 lead.
Bulgaria reacted very strongly at the beginning of the third set. The national team took a 5:1 lead after good defense and effective actions in attack. Serving and blocking continued to yield results, and the lead reached 14:8, and subsequently, Bulgaria also led 20:15.
It was then that the biggest missed opportunity in the match occurred. Turkey gradually began to close the gap, and at 21:20, Bulgaria's lead was only one point. Another successful block by the Turkish team followed, and the score was tied.
Denislav Dimitrov tried to break the opponent's run with a timeout, and the outcome of the set extended beyond the 24th point. At 24:24, Bulgaria made a good defense, but the rally ended with a net touch called. On the next point, an attack line violation was called, and Turkey reached 26:24, closing the match in three sets.
The statistics also show one of the main reasons for the defeat. Bulgaria finished the match with 28% attack efficiency and 24 direct errors. In such contested first and third sets, the large number of gifted points weighed heavily, and the low efficiency in attack did not allow the team to capitalize on the periods when they had a game advantage.
Katerina Popova was the top scorer for Bulgaria with 10 points. For Turkey, Mebis Özengin scored the most – 13 points.
Bulgaria's next match is on August 20, when our national team will face Russia at 13:00.