Bulgarian national Mikaela Stoyanova played her strongest match since the start of the season in the Italian Serie A1, but her impressive performance was not enough for Macerata to win against one of the league favorites – Savino Del Bene (Scandicci).
In a match from the fourth round of the Italian championship, Macerata lost 1:3 (14:25, 25:21, 24:26, 23:25), although they managed to seriously challenge their renowned opponent, especially in the last two sets.
The 20-year-old Stoyanova started as a starter and finished with 25 points, equaling the achievement of Canadian national Kiera Van Ryk, who was the top scorer for the winners.
The Bulgarian scored 23 points from attack, one from block, and one directly from a serve. Thus, she became Macerata's main weapon against an opponent with a number of established international stars.
After Scandicci convincingly won the first set 25:14, the hosts found an answer in the second part and equalized after 25:21.
The third set turned into a real battle, in which Stoyanova made a significant contribution to maintaining the intrigue. In the final part, the Bulgarian national scored two important attacks, with which Macerata equalized at 21:21 and took the lead at 22:21.
The hosts continued to fight for every point and reached 24:24, but Scandicci snatched the set 26:24 and again took the lead in the overall score.
The fourth set was no less dramatic. Macerata stayed close to their opponent until the last rallies, and Stoyanova again took responsibility in attack.
At 22:24, the Bulgarian successfully completed an attack and reduced the deficit to 23:24, keeping the hosts' hopes for a comeback alive. In the next rally, however, Serbian national Maja Aleksic scored the decisive point for 25:23 and brought victory to Scandicci.
Besides Stoyanova, Beatrice Gardini stood out for Macerata with 10 points.
For the winners, Kiera Van Ryk finished with 25 points, and American national Avery Skinner added 20.
Statistics show that Macerata even had a minimal advantage in blocks – 11 against 10, as well as in direct points from serve – 4 against 2. The decisive difference, however, came from the attack, where Scandicci scored 60 points against 44 for the hosts.
Despite the defeat, Mikaela Stoyanova's performance is one of the big positive moments for Macerata. The Bulgarian national showed that she can carry the main burden in attack even against top-class opponents, and her 25 points are a serious bid for a more important role in the team during the season.
photos:legavolleyfemminile
