Bulgaria's Women's U21 national team took an important step towards qualifying for the 2026 U22 European Volleyball Championship in The Hague. The proteges of coach Dragan Nesic defeated Croatia 3:2 sets in an extremely hard-fought qualifying tournament match, full of comebacks and emotions.
First set
The Bulgarians started evenly, but at 16:18 for Croatia, Elena Kolarova entered, immediately scoring an ace for 18:18. Viktoria Koeva recorded another serving streak, and Iva Dudova finished several key attacks to form the final 25:23.
Second set
Guncheva set the tone with a block for 5:4, but shaky reception allowed Croatia to pull ahead to 12:16. A streak by Kolarova brought back the intrigue, and the score was melted down to 18:19. Despite efforts, a service error at the crucial moment gave the set to the opponents with 23:25.
Third set
Our team was chasing until 13:15, when they scored five unanswered points with the help of Diana Borisova's stable serve and Dudova's confident attack. Kolarova added two decisive central attacks, and Bulgaria won the set 25:19, taking a 2:1 lead.
Fourth set
The Bulgarians started confidently with 8:4, but the Croats quickly equalized and turned it around for 19:16. Three points for our team followed, and a new tie, but uncertainty in the final rallies allowed Croatia to close the set 22:25 and send the match to a tie-break.
Tie-break
In the decisive set, the Croats were the first to reach match point at 13:12, but the Bulgarians showed ironclad mental toughness. Guncheva scored an ace to turn it around, and Dudova recorded a block for 17:15 and a triumph in the drama that brings Bulgaria U21 closer to EuroVolley U22 in The Hague.
Standings and decisive last match with Serbia
Thus, Bulgaria now has two victories, after the convincing 3:0 success against Luxembourg on the first day and the drama against Croatia. Tomorrow at 5:30 PM, the U21 national team will face Serbia, who is also undefeated so far - having beaten Croatia 3:2 and achieved a routine 3:0 victory against Luxembourg.
According to the regulations, the winners of each qualifying group qualify directly for the U22 European Championship finals in The Hague in 2026, and they are joined by two of the best second-placed teams. This makes tomorrow's clash with Serbia a direct final for first place and a guaranteed quota for EuroVolley U22.
photo: BFV
