The Bulgarian women's national volleyball team is starting its participation in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2025.
Our team is already on Canadian soil! The team, led by Antonina Zetova, arrived in Ottawa after an almost eight-hour flight from Paris and had its first training session in the hallTD Place Arena, where the first weekend of the Nations League (VNL) 2025 begins on June 5.

🔴Bulgaria starts against host Canada – the match is scheduled for Wednesday night to Thursday at 2:30 AM Bulgarian time.

📋Squad for the tournament in Ottawa:

Lora Kitipova, Lora Slavcheva, Alexandra Milanova, Iveta Stanchulova, Galina Karabasheva, Elitsa Atanasievic, Hristina Vuchkova, Nasya Dimitrova, Iva Dudova, Darina Naneva, Mikaela Stoyanova, Merelin Nikolova, Emileta Racheva, Viktoria Ninova

❌ From the group that played in the friendly tournament in Poland, the following were dropped:

• Borislava Saykova – with a slight Achilles injury

• Daria Ivanova

• Alexandra Saykova

📅Bulgaria's schedule in Ottawa:

• vsCanada – June 5, 2:30 AM

• vsDominican Republic– June 5, 23:00

• vsSerbia– June 8, 2:30 AM

• vsNetherlands– June 8, 21:30

Our girls are accommodated in the "Delta Marriott" hotel and will have a few more training sessions before their first match.
The Canadians have already published their final squadas early as May 30. Coach Giovanni Guidetti selected 16 players, among whom the names of experienced opposite Kiera Van Ryk and setter Brie O'Reilly stand out. The squad also features several debutants who will try to establish themselves in the team from the very first week.

Canada's VNL Roster – Week 1 (Ottawa):

• Brie O'Reilly

• Quinn Pelland

• Anna Smrek

• Kiera Van Ryk

• Emily Maglio

• Jazmine White

• Jessica Andrews

• Nyeadholi Tokbuom

• Abby Geusen

• Andrea Mitrovic

• Hilary Johnson

• Lucy Borowski

• Raya Surinx

• Delaney Watson

• Julia Moomaw

• Kacie Joost

The two teams have one victory each in their head-to-head matches in the VNL. In 2022, we defeated the "Maple Leafs" in the Philippines with a 3:0 score, and a year later, we lost with the same result in Hong Kong.