The Bulgarian men's national team recorded a victory in their first friendly match against the Czech Republic before EuroVolley 2026. Gianlorenzo Blengini's team won 3:1 (25:21, 25:19, 25:19, 23:25) in front of about 2000 spectators at "Arena SamElion" in Samokov.
The two teams had previously agreed to play a minimum of four sets regardless of the match's development. Bulgaria practically decided the match in the first three sets, which they won consecutively with 21, 19, and 19 points.
Blengini started with Simeon Nikolov as setter, Aleksandar Nikolov, Martin Atanasov, and Denislav Bardarov in attack, Alex Grozdanov and Iliya Petkov in the middle, and Zhasmin Velichkov as libero.
The national team faced the most significant difficulties in the first set, in which the Czech Republic took the lead several times. However, Bulgaria was stronger in the final rallies, and Simeon Nikolov closed the set with two consecutive aces for 25:21.
In the next two sets, the Bulgarians controlled the game more confidently. The second ended 25:19 after an ace by Martin Atanasov, and Bulgaria took the third with the same score.
After securing the victory, Blengini completely changed the lineup for the fourth set, giving opportunities to Stoil Palev, Venislav Antov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Georgi Tatarov, Lazar Buchkov, and Preslav Petkov. The Czech Republic led 18:13, but the national team came back to 21:21. In the end, the visitors managed to snatch the set 25:23, making the final score 3:1.
Aleksandar Nikolov was the top scorer for Bulgaria with 15 points, finishing with an impressive 81% attack efficiency. Denislav Bardarov and Martin Atanasov added 11 points each and recorded 83% attack efficiency. For the Czech Republic, Lukas Vasina and Patrik Indra scored 10 points each.
Team statistics also show Bulgaria's significant superiority, especially in attack. The national team finished with 64% efficiency against 46% for the Czech Republic and scored 55 points from attack against 43. Bulgaria also had an advantage in blocks – 8:5, and in serves – 6:5 aces.
The reception of both teams was almost even – 57% positive for Bulgaria against 56% for the Czech Republic. The national team made more service errors – 22 against 18. The Czech Republic received 31 points from Bulgaria's errors, while the national team took 29 from the opponent's errors.
| Indicator | Bulgaria | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Blocks | 8 | 5 |
| Attack efficiency | 64% | 46% |
| Points from attack | 55 | 43 |
| Positive reception | 57% | 56% |
| Aces | 6 | 5 |
| Service errors | 22 | 18 |
| Points from opponent's errors | 29 | 31 |
| Total points scored | 98 | 84 |
The biggest difference between the two teams came in offense. Bulgaria scored 12 more points from attack with a whole 18 percentage points higher efficiency. To this, the national team added three more blocks. Thus, the superiority in these two elements compensated for the more errors from the serve and led to a 14-point difference in the total score – 98:84. The control match is part of the final stage of Bulgaria's preparation for the European Championship in September. After the end of the match, the national team stayed to give out autographs and take pictures with the fans.
Then, for the first time, the two future teammates and new additions to Lube Civitanova, Antonin Kliimesh and Moni Nikolov, stood side by side.
Photos by Nikolay Varadinov
