Pirin (Razlog) achieved their first victory of the season in WINBET Super Volley, after defeating Metalurg (Pernik) with a score of 3:1 (25:22, 25:21, 19:25, 25:23) in the second round of the championship.
In front of 250 spectators in the "Septemvri" hall, Blagovest Katrandzhiev's proteges won their first three points, after losing to champion Levski with a score of 0:3 at the start.
Tasev led Pirin, Gadzhanov impressed with blocks
The most effective player for the hosts was Ivan Tasev with 18 points, including 15 from attack, 2 aces, and one block. The receiver finished with 56% success rate in attack.
Dimitar Dulchev added 14 points, and Kostadin Gadzhanov distinguished himself with 12, half of which came from blocks. The middle blocker made an impressive 6 out of Pirin's total of 13 blocks.
Viktor Tomov contributed 11 points, and Pavel Dushkov finished with 7.
Two comebacks and a decisive fourth set
Metalurg started the first game better and led 16:14, but the hosts turned the score to 21:20 and won 25:22.
A similar scenario was repeated in the second set. The guests again had an advantage at 16:15, but Pirin found a solution in the final rallies and took a 2:0 lead after 25:21.
Pernik reacted in the third game, in which they built a significant lead of 21:12 and reduced their deficit after 25:19.
The fourth set became the most contested. Pirin led 16:13 and 21:19, but Metalurg remained in the battle until the last rallies. However, the hosts held their lead and closed the match at 25:23.
A key factor for the success proved to be the block. Pirin scored 13 points from this element against 9 for Metalurg, with as many as 6 coming in the last set.
Interestingly, the guests had more points from attack - 56 against 48, but made more errors, from which Pirin gained 31 points.
Nakov with 22 points for Metalurg
The most effective player in the match was the captain of the visiting team, Marian Nakov, with 22 points, 21 of which were from attack. Konstantin Manolev added 18, and Hamza Hfaied finished with 11.
For Metalurg, this is their second consecutive defeat since the start of the season, after losing 0:3 to Beroe (Stara Zagora) in the first round.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
