Bulgaria recordeda second consecutive victory in the Nations League tournament in Burgas, this time with a 3:1 win over Slovenia, who finished fifth at the Paris Olympic Games. A victory that boosted the "lions'" confidence but did not detract from their concentration. Setter Simeon "Moni" Nikolov, head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini, and outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov clearly showed:we are only thinking about Turkey!

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"At the moment, I don't realize what we've done, but I'm very happy. Maybe in an hour, I'll feel what we've actually achieved. But it's already over - I want to focus on tomorrow's match. I want to win and make the audience happy again."

The humble but ambitious setter remained critical of himself:

"As a team, the game was good. But personally, I'm not very satisfied with my performance - I could have given much more. Still, when you win, you can't complain. If we win with my not-so-strong play, it means we truly have great potential. I think we showed it!"

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"First, I want to congratulate our boys - they are the main protagonists who made the difference. Let's not draw general conclusions - we recorded a second consecutive victory, which is great, but we are still learning how to handle victories, emotions, and how to control them."

"Tomorrow, a new battle awaits us, and there is no time for euphoria. We need to concentrate as quickly as possible - tomorrow is a new day, with a new match and new challenges."

The Italian coach also paid special attention to the team:

"The most valuable thing is this poster that the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation made - with all 30 athletes and the entire staff. It's not just these 14 you see on the court. We have another group that trains and awaits its chance. That is our true strength."

⚠️ For the upcoming match against Turkey:

"We know that Turkey has some problems with injured players, but that will motivate them even more. We need to forget this evening as quickly as possible and turn our attention to tomorrow's match. Turkey has quality players, and we need to approach it very seriously."

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"We won this match with character. We outplayed Slovenia mainly because of that. I haven't looked at the statistics, but we played with great heart. That's what I expect to see in every match. And thanks to the audience, of course!"

In the third game, at 12:3, we had a drop, but we came back. And in the final part it was point for point, but again our character brought us forward.

Alex does not hide his ambition:

We are going for 4 out of 4. That is in our heads. That is our goal.

When someone is struggling, the others help him - that's why it's a team game. A great Dimitar Dimitrov came in for Veni Antov and played a strong match. May he continue like this!

Yes, the victory gives us a psychological advantage for the World Championship, where we will play Slovenia again. But that is far away. Now we are only thinking about Turkey.