Bulgarian national player Viktoria Ninova has made an impressive start to her first season in American collegiate volleyball. The 18-year-old libero already has six official matches with the University of Cincinnati team, and the Bearcats started the season with a record of four wins and two losses.
Ninova, who arrived in the USA from CSKA, did not need much time to adapt. Already in her first official NCAA match, she became an important figure for Cincinnati.
On August 28, the Bearcats visited Illinois in Champaign and found themselves in a tough situation after the first two sets. However, Cincinnati made a complete comeback and won 3:2 (17:25, 22:25, 25:16, 25:23, 15:12). This was the team's first official match of the season after two preseason friendlies against Wright State and Tennessee.

Ninova started as a libero and showed why Cincinnati recruited her right from her debut. The Bulgarian finished with 15 digs – the most on the team – and added 4 aces.
Her contribution from the serve proved particularly valuable. Two of Ninova's aces came in the first set, when Cincinnati went on a four-point run and reduced their deficit to 11:13. Two more aces from the Bulgarian came at a crucial moment in the fourth set. At 13:13, the Bearcats went on a five-point run and took a 19:14 lead. Illinois managed to tie at 22:22 and 23:23, but Cincinnati snatched the set 25:23, and then won the tie-break 15:12.
The strong debut was not an isolated case. Just one day later, Cincinnati defeated Syracuse 3:0 (27:25, 25:19, 25:11), and Ninova was again #1 on the team in digs – this time with 14. Thus, the Bulgarian led this statistic for Cincinnati in her first two official NCAA matches.
After these two matches, her performance was also recognized at the Big 12 level. Before the Popcorn Classic tournament, after Cincinnati's first three matches, Ninova ranked eighth in the conference with an average of 3.27 digs per set.
After the two wins in Champaign, Cincinnati suffered its first loss – 0:3 to Santa Clara in its first home game of the season. After that, the Bearcats traveled to the Popcorn Classic in Valparaiso, where they defeated host Valparaiso 3:0 (25:21, 25:13, 26:24), lost to Michigan 0:3 (26:28, 17:25, 26:28), and finished the tournament with a win over Oakland 3:0 (25:13, 25:18, 25:19).
Ninova played her strongest defensive match to date against Michigan. Despite the loss, the Bulgarian libero finished with 18 digs – the most for Cincinnati. A day later, in the win over Oakland, she added another 10.
Thus, after the first six official matches, Cincinnati has four wins and two losses, and Ninova has already shown that she can play a significant role in the team in her debut NCAA season.
For the 18-year-old from Sofia, this is her first season overseas. At Cincinnati, she wears #21 and is a freshman. Her profile at the American university notes the European title with Bulgaria U18 in 2024 and the U19 World Championship title in 2025, when Ninova was also named the best libero of the World Championship. She already has experience with the Bulgarian women's national team in the VNL and at the 2025 World Championship.
After the flying start, the schedule continues today, September 10, with an away game against Morehead State, and on September 11, Cincinnati will face Michigan State on neutral ground in Morehead, Kentucky. Matches against Ball State and Xavier follow, before the Big 12 schedule begins on September 25 with a home game against TCU.