Lokomotiv Avia (Plovdiv) started the new season in WINBET Super Volley with a victory, after defeating Montana at home with 3:1 (25:20, 25:22, 21:25, 25:19).
The team led by Nayden Naydenov took a 2:0 lead in sets, but the visitors managed to bring back the intrigue by winning the third set. However, the Plovdiv team did not allow the match to go to a tie-break and closed the encounter in 109 minutes in the "Paisiy Hilendarski" hall.
The hosts had the advantage for most of the first set, leading 16:13 and 21:19, before winning it 25:20.
The second set offered a more contested game. Montana even led 16:15, but Lokomotiv managed to turn the tide and at 21:19 already had a two-point lead. The Plovdiv team maintained their advantage until the end and took a 2:0 lead after 25:22.
However, Dimitar Bozhilov's team did not give up. In the third set, the visitors took the initiative, led 16:14 and 21:18, and reduced their deficit after 25:21.
Instead of allowing the opponent to equalize the score, Lokomotiv responded with a decisive performance in the fourth set. The hosts led 16:12, increased their lead to 21:13, and finished the match at 25:19.

Julien Georgiev and Rozalin Penchev, who returned after a long absence from volleyball, were the top scorers for the winners with 15 points each. Penchev scored all his points from attack with 45% efficiency, while Georgiev added two blocks and one ace to his 12 successful attacks.
Todor Dimitrov contributed 11 points, and Nikolay Kartev finished with 10, including three successful blocks.
For Montana, Nikolay Ivanov was the top scorer with 14 points. Bruno Rubbo and Timofey Benkovich added 13 each, and Joao Vitor dos Santos Lima finished with 12. Julien Georgiev was chosen as MVP.

Interestingly, the visitors had better attacking statistics – 54 points scored against 43 for Lokomotiv and 45% against 41% efficiency.
However, the superiority of the Plovdiv team in blocking proved crucial for the final outcome – 14 points against 7. Montana also made significantly more service errors – 18 against 10, which further facilitated the hosts' task.
Thus, Lokomotiv Avia started the new championship with three points, while Montana remained without any points after the first round.

photos: nvl.bg