Montana achieved its first victory of the season in WINBET Super Volley, after defeating Slavia 3:1 (25:19, 26:28, 25:19, 25:19) in a match from the second round of the championship.
In front of 140 spectators in the "Mladost" hall, the hosts demonstrated serious superiority in attack and won three of the four sets with an identical 25:19. Thus, Montana recovered from the defeat against Lokomotiv Avia at the start of the championship.
Benkovic most effective, Rubo unstoppable on block
The new addition Timofey Benkovic, who comes from Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, led the hosts' scorers with 20 points, including 19 from attack with 68% success rate and one ace.

An exceptional performance was also made by the Brazilian middle blocker Bruno Rubo, who finished with 17 points - 9 from attack, 6 blocks, and 2 aces. His impressive attacking efficiency reached 82% after 9 successful attacks from 11 attempts.
Nikolay Ivanov added 14 points, and Joao Vitor distinguished himself with 11. Setter Viktor Zekov also made a significant contribution with 6 points - three from serve and three from block.
Slavia snatched the second set but couldn't keep up the pace
Montana controlled the first part, in which they led 16:12 and 21:15, before closing it at 25:19.
The second set offered more intrigue. The guests from Sofia built a lead of 21:15, but the hosts managed to erase the deficit. In the end, Slavia snatched the set with 28:26 and equalized.
However, this did not change the course of the match. In the third set, Montana led 8:3 and 16:9, and in the fourth, they again imposed their will, reaching 21:16 and ending the match with 25:19.
The difference between the two teams was particularly clear in attack. Montana scored 58 points from attack with 59% success rate against 40 points and 40% for Slavia. The hosts also had an advantage in blocking - 10:8, as well as in aces - 7:4.
For the capital team, Georgi Kostadinov was the most effective with 18 points, including 3 blocks. Former youth international Apostol Boyanov added 13, and Aleksandar Stoyanov finished with 8.
For Slavia, this is the second consecutive defeat after losing to CSKA 0:3 in the first round, while Montana already has three points in their asset.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov