The Bulgarian national team started its participation in the European Championship, which our country is co-hosting, in an excellent manner. The team led by Gianlorenzo Blengini defeated North Macedonia 3:0 (25:17, 25:19, 25:18) in their first match of Group B in Sofia.
On September 10, Bulgaria rests, and on September 11, at 7:00 PM, they will face Portugal in their second group stage match.
The match against North Macedonia was watched live by President Iliana Iotova, Minister of Youth and Sports Encho Kiryazov, Chairperson of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee Vesela Lecheva, as well as Teodor Salparov, who played his testimonial match a few days ago. Among the audience was also Serbian national player Aleksandra Uzelac, who is Moni Nikolov's girlfriend.
Bulgaria practically started with its main lineup: Simeon Nikolov, Martin Atanasov, Iliya Petkov, Alex Grozdanov, Denislav Bardarov, Aleksandar Nikolov, Zhasmin Velichkov – libero.
One of Blengini's interesting moves was using outside hitter Zhasmin Velichkov as a libero – an option the Italian specialist also tried in the friendly match against the Czech Republic. The decision paid off, as Velichkov finished with 86% positive and 86% excellent reception from 14 balls.
The stands gave extra energy to the Bulgarian national players, and the big difference between the two teams came from the serve and attack efficiency.
Simeon Nikolov and Denislav Bardarov had a very strong match. The setter turned his serve into a real weapon and finished with a remarkable 7 aces, while Bardarov excelled in attack.
North Macedonia started better and took a 2:0 and 3:1 lead, but Bulgaria quickly turned the tide. A series of strong serves by Simeon Nikolov helped the national team take control. After 9:6, the opponent stayed close for a while, but in the second half of the set, Bulgaria asserted its superiority and reached 25:17.
In the second set, the national team took a 5:3 lead, but North Macedonia responded and briefly turned the score around. After the eighth point, the game was even, before the Bulgarian serve and more effective attack again made the difference. Bulgaria closed the set at 25:19 and took a 2:0 lead.
The third set followed a similar scenario. There was a period when North Macedonia managed to stay close, but after the middle of it, the Bulgarian team again increased its pace. Simeon Nikolov continued to pressure the opponent with his serve, and Bulgaria closed the match with 25:18.
Aleksandar Nikolov was the top scorer with 19 points, realizing 2 aces and 1 block. He finished with 16 successful attacks from 24 attempts – 67% efficiency, with only two direct errors in attack. In reception, Alex Nikolov had 67% positive and 67% excellent from 6 balls.
Denislav Bardarov added 15 points – 12 from attack, 1 ace, and 2 blocks. His efficiency in attack is particularly impressive – 12 successful attacks from 15 attempts, or 80%, with no direct attack errors. He also received 12 serves, with 67% positive and 25% excellent reception.
Simeon Nikolov achieved an unusual scoring total for a setter – 7 points, all directly from serves. He served 20 times, recorded 7 aces, and made 5 errors. His serve was one of Bulgaria's main weapons.
Iliya Petkov was also effective – 7 points, of which 5 from attack and 2 blocks. The middle blocker realized 5 out of 7 attacks for 71% efficiency. Alex Grozdanov finished with 4 points – 3 from attack and 1 block, attacking with 60% success rate. Martin Atanasov added 6 points.
On the other side, Nikola Gjorgiev was the top scorer for North Macedonia with 8 points, but he only realized 8 out of 19 attacks – 42%.
Team statistics clearly show where Bulgaria made the difference:

The numbers show a huge superiority of Bulgaria in three of the main elements. The national team scored exactly twice as many points from attack - 42 against 21, and the difference in efficiency is 58% against 34%. Even more categorical was the difference from service - 10:0 aces. The price of the aggressive serve was a total of 21 errors, but the pressure on the Macedonian reception obviously justified the risk. Bulgaria also had a huge advantage in reception - 77% positive against 38%. The game-by-game statistics are also interesting. Bulgaria recorded 4 aces in the first game, 3 in the second and 3 in the third, while North Macedonia failed to make a single one. In attack, the national team gradually increased their efficiency - 55% in the first, 62% in the second and 58% in the third game. Thus, Bulgaria took the maximum from their first task at EuroVolley 2026 - a clean 3:0 victory, three points for the standings and a convincing start in front of their home crowd. In addition, our team added 1.85 points to the ranking.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov