Bulgaria not only finished the EuroVolley 2026 group stage with four wins in five matches, but our national team players also left a significant mark in the tournament's individual rankings. Four Bulgarian volleyball players are in the Top 10 of the six main individual rankings, with a total of seven presences among the top ten.

Aleksandar Nikolov is the No. 1 scorer at EuroVolley

The most impressive statistics belong to Aleksandar Nikolov. After the five matches in the group stage, the Bulgarian outside hitter is No. 1 among scorers with 117 points in 19 sets, or an average of 6.16 points per set.
Behind him are Silvester Meijs from the Netherlands with 99 points, Ferre Reggers from Belgium with 96, Sam Deroo from Belgium with 94, and Shay Mayo Lieberman from Israel with 93.
Nikolov also leads the attackers' ranking. He has 103 successful attacks, or an average of 5.42 per set, and is the only volleyball player to have surpassed the 100 successful attacks mark in the group stage.
The Bulgarian national player is also in the Top 10 for serves – No. 7 with 10 aces in 19 sets, or an average of 0.53 per set.
Thus, Aleksandar Nikolov alone has three presences in the Top 10 of the main individual rankings.

Simeon Nikolov is No. 2 in serving and No. 5 among setters

Simeon Nikolov is also present in the Top 10 in two categories.
Bulgaria's setter is No. 2 among servers with 15 aces in 19 sets, or an average of 0.79 per set. Ahead of him is only Ukrainian Oleh Plotnytskyi with 19 aces.
Simeon Nikolov is also No. 5 in the setters' ranking with 57.32%.
Thus, Bulgaria has two volleyball players in the Top 7 for serving – Simeon Nikolov is second, and Aleksandar Nikolov is seventh.

Alex Grozdanov is No. 3 in blocking

Captain Alex Grozdanov is the third Bulgarian national player with a significant presence in the individual rankings.
After the five matches, he is No. 3 among blockers with 16 kill blocks in 19 sets, or an average of 0.84 per set.
Ahead of Grozdanov are only Martijn Colson from Belgium with 22 kill blocks and Rasmus Mikkelsen from Denmark with 17.

Zhasmin Velichkov is No. 5 among receivers

Zhasmin Velichkov completes the Bulgarian presence at the top of the individual rankings. The libero of our national team is No. 5 among receivers with 43.40% perfect reception.
Velichkov received a total of 106 serves in the five matches and 19 sets played by Bulgaria.
Ahead of him in this ranking are Jani Kovačič from Slovenia with 47.22%, Oleksandr Boyko from Ukraine with 45.83%, Maksymilian Granieczny from Poland with 44.74%, and Joel Andersson from Sweden with 44.00%.

Four Bulgarians, seven positions in the Top 10

The balance sheet from the six main individual rankings after the group stage is impressive – four Bulgarian national players have a total of seven appearances in the Top 10.
Aleksandar Nikolov – #1 scorer, #1 attacker and #7 on serve.
Simeon Nikolov – #2 on serve and #5 among setters.
Alex Grozdanov – #3 among blockers.
Zhasmin Velichkov – #5 among receivers.

Balcerzak: No dispute for MVP – Aleksandar Nikolov

The strong Bulgarian presence does not go unnoticed outside of the statistical rankings. The popular Polish volleyball blogger and analyst Jakub Balcerzak published his Dream Team for the group stage of EuroVolley 2026 and chose Aleksandar Nikolov as MVP.

"I think there is no controversy around the MVP – Aleksandar Nikolov looks phenomenal in the statistics," Balcerzak wrote.
The Pole also included another Bulgarian national player in his ideal lineup – Zhasmin Velichkov as libero. About him, Balcerzak writes: "Velichkov is a magnificent libero, the best receiver."
The Bulgarian presence in his assessment does not end there. For MIP – Most Improved Player – Balcerzak chose the Finn Luka Marttila, but admitted that he had also considered Denislav Bardarov: "Here I was tempted to choose Bardarov, I adore him."

Thus, statistics and external assessment meet at one point – after the group stage, Bulgaria has a serious individual presence among the best at EuroVolley 2026, and Aleksandar Nikolov is #1 simultaneously in points scored and successful attacks.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov