Venezuela made a full comeback from 0:2 and eliminated Bulgaria from the Top 8 of the U17 Boys' World Championship in Doha (Qatar). Ivan Stanev's boys dramatically lost 2:3 (30:28, 25:17, 19:25, 18:25, 12:15) in the round of 16 and lost their chance to continue the fight for medals.
The defeat is particularly painful, as until this moment Bulgaria had only victories at the World Championship. The national team finished the preliminary phase with three wins and took 4th place in the overall standings, but failed to cope with the enthusiastic and excellently organized South Americans in defense. Venezuela reached the eliminations as the third team in its group, but right at the beginning of the round of 16, they showed that they could create serious problems for Bulgaria.
The first set turned into a real battle. Venezuela took a 4:2 lead and continued to hold the initiative, and the most difficult situation for the Bulgarians came at 19:22. The South Americans reached two consecutive set points at 24:22, but then Milko Bagdasarov took responsibility in attack. Bulgaria saved both, and then thwarted another opportunity for the opponent to close the set. In turn, the national team missed two set points, before ending the drama on the third – 30:28.
In the second set, Bulgaria showed the best of its game. The national team started with 3:0, gradually increased its lead to 13:9 and completely took control. The difference reached 24:15, and on the third set point, the Bulgarians finished the part with 25:17 and took a 2:0 lead.
At this point, the quarter-final seemed very close. Bulgaria only needed one more set won, but just then the match began to change.
The third part also started well for Ivan Stanev's boys. Bulgaria took a 5:3 lead, and then 7:4. However, Venezuela managed to equalize, and this gave a huge impetus to the South Americans. They turned the tide and built up a 16:12 lead, and as Bulgarian errors increased, the difference reached 20:15.
At 24:18 for Venezuela, a video challenge brought back Bulgaria's hopes, after an attack by Milko Bagdasarov, initially called out, turned out to be good. The score was corrected to 23:19, but the national team failed to complete their comeback. Venezuela won the set 25:19 and stayed in the match.
Confidence was now on the side of the South Americans. The fourth set went back and forth, but two strong runs allowed Venezuela to take a 14:11 lead. Bulgaria got close to 15:16, but couldn't equalize. Errors continued to accumulate, and the lack of sufficient pressure from the serve allowed the opponent to play with increasing confidence. The Venezuelans reached 23:17 and closed the set 25:18, to tie the score – 2:2.
Thus, the match, which after the first two sets seemed under Bulgaria's control, had to be decided in a tie-break.
The fifth set started evenly until 4:4, after which Bulgaria managed to take a two-point lead. However, a series of five consecutive points for Venezuela followed, which turned the score to 9:6. The national team showed character and recovered two points from the deficit, but did not use their opportunities to equalize. At 11:13, Ivan Stanev called a timeout, but after a serving error, Venezuela got two match points. The South Americans converted the first one – 15:12, and completed the full comeback from 0:2 to 3:2.
Interestingly, Bulgaria had a serious advantage in blocking, but this did not prove to be enough.
| Indicator | Bulgaria | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
| Attack points | 60 | 63 |
| Blocks | 13 | 6 |
| Aces | 1 | 3 |
| Points from opponent's errors | 30 | 37 |
| Total points | 104 | 109 |
| Digs | 79 | 80 |
| Receptions | 95 | 84 |
| Set balls | 134 | 142 |
The numbers show how unusual the match development was. Bulgaria decisively won the battle at the net with 13:6 blocks, but Venezuela had a slight advantage in attack – 63:60, as well as from the serve – 3:1 aces. In defense, the two teams were practically even – 79:80 saved balls, which confirms how difficult it was for the South Americans to allow the ball to drop in their court. Errors weighed particularly heavily – Venezuela received 37 points from Bulgaria's errors, while the national team took 30 from the opponent's. Milko Bagdasarov was again Bulgaria's leader and finished as the top scorer in the match with 23 points. Sali added 16. For Venezuela, Garcia scored 20 points, and Rondon finished with 18. Thus, Bulgaria failed to achieve the minimum program – qualifying among the top eight teams in the world. After three consecutive victories and 4th place in the overall standings after the preliminary phase, the national team had an excellent position to attack the quarterfinals, but squandered a two-set lead against Venezuela.
photo:volleyballworld.com
