An interesting individual clash will accompany today's match between Bulgaria and Ukraine at EuroVolley 2026. Simeon Nikolov and Oleh Plotnytskyi will stand on opposite sides of the net as the leaders in the ranking for most aces after the first two matches.
Both have 8 direct points from serves. The difference is that the Bulgarian setter achieved them in six played sets, while the captain of Ukraine did so in seven. Thus, on average per set, Nikolov has 1.33 aces, and Plotnytskyi has 1.14.
It is interesting that another Bulgarian is among the leaders. Aleksandar Nikolov is fifth with 4 aces, or an average of 0.67 per set.

Thus, the Nikolov brothers have a total of 12 aces in Bulgaria's first six sets at the championship.
Today, however, statistics will turn into a direct clash. On one side will be Plotnytskyi's powerful serve, which for years has been one of the main weapons in his game, and on the other – Simeon Nikolov's serve, which so far has brought extremely high efficiency for Bulgaria.
Will we witness a real duel from the service line? The answer will come tonight in "Arena 8888 Sofia", and the performance of the two leaders in the ace ranking could turn out to be one of the factors that will tip the scales in the match.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov