The Bulgarian women's national team concluded its participation in the 2026 European Championship. The "Lionesses" decisively lost to the Olympic and world champion Italy with 0:3 (18:25, 13:25, 13:25) in the 1/8-final match in Brno.
Bulgaria managed to put up a fight against the big favorite only in the first half of the opening set. Our team took an 8:7 lead, and a little later was still only one point behind the opponent at 14:15. Gradually, however, the class of the Italian women prevailed, and the team led by Julio Velasco closed the first set at 25:18.
From then on, the difference between the two teams became decisive. Italy exerted serious pressure with serve and attack, while Bulgaria found it increasingly difficult to organize its game effectively. The second set ended at 25:13, and the result was identical in the third – 25:13.
The top scorer in the match was Ekaterina Antropova with 18 points, of which an impressive 13 were scored on her own serve against Italy (break points). Paola Egonu added 14 points, Sara Fahr – 8, and Miriam Sylla – 7.
For Bulgaria, the top scorer was Aleksandra Milanova with 12 points. After a strong start, however, the Bulgarian team failed to find arguments against the power and depth of the world and Olympic champions' squad.
Thus, Bulgaria finishes EuroVolley 2026 in the 1/8-finals. Marcello Abbondanza's team reached the direct eliminations after finishing fourth in Group B with a balance of 2 wins and 3 losses, but in the very first elimination match, they faced one of the toughest possible opponents – the undefeated Italy.

photo: cev.eu