The Bulgarian national volleyball teams for men and women under 16 started their participation in the European qualifiers with mixed results.

The national team for men under 16, led by Svetozar Ivanov, delighted the audience in "Hristo Botev" Hall, defeating the team from Cyprus with 3:1 (25:22, 25:12, 20:25, 25:13). The match started hesitantly for our team, who were seriously behind in the first set (8:14), but managed to turn the score around and win it. The second set was entirely dictated by the Bulgarians (25:12). A slight relaxation in the third set allowed Cyprus to take it 20:25, but in the fourth set, the boys showed character and sealed the victory with a convincing 25:13. Tomorrow at 18:00, Bulgaria will face Latvia.

At the same time, the national team for women under 16 played an extremely dramatic match against Ukraine in Lithuania, which ended in a sad loss with 2:3 (25:21, 25:19, 18:25, 24:26, 14:16). Although Vladislav Todorov's girls won the first two sets (25:21, 25:19) after strong play and comebacks, a decline followed in the third set (18:25). The fourth set offered real drama, with the Bulgarians having two chances to close the match at 24:22, but they failed and lost 24:26. In the decisive tie-break, the Bulgarians took an 8:3 lead, but Ukraine managed to catch up and after another dose of tension and saved match points, ultimately won 16:14. The Bulgarian Gabriela Pekova was named the best player of the match.

The qualifiers continue, and the Bulgarian teams will fight for further qualification.

photos:BFV