Nikolay Kolev played a strong match for Panathinaikos, who convincingly defeated Aris 3:0 (25:19, 25:11, 25:19) in the second round of the Greek Novibet Volley League.
The match took place in the "Metz" hall in Athens, and the hosts needed 70 minutes of playing time to achieve their second consecutive victory since the start of the season.
Kolev became one of the main factors for the success, finishing with 13 points and being Panathinaikos' top scorer. The Bulgarian impressed most notably from serve, where he scored 5 aces, to which he added 6 points from attack and 2 from block.
His play in attack was particularly effective. Kolev finished with 60% success rate, having scored 6 out of 10 attacks, without making a direct error.
Panathinaikos asserted its superiority from the beginning of the match, but was most convincing in the second set, won 25:11. The hosts dominated from the serve, finishing with a total of 13 aces against only 2 for Aris.
Besides Kolev, French outside hitter Timothee Carle also finished with a double-digit score for the winners, scoring 12 points. Rasmus Brøndsted-Nielsen and Charalambos Andreopoulos added 7 each.
Another Bulgarian volleyball player, Krasimir Angelov, took part in the Aris squad. The outside hitter started as a starter in the first set, but was subsequently substituted and did not appear on the court again. He remained without a point scored, recording three attacks and five receptions with 60% positive and 40% excellent reception.
The top scorer for the guests was Frenchman Julien Winkelmuller with 11 points.
Statistics show a significant difference in the effectiveness of the two teams. Panathinaikos finished with 57% attack efficiency against 34% for Aris, and in positive reception the advantage was even more noticeable - 70% against 33%.
With this success, Panathinaikos continues without losing a set after the first two rounds of the Greek championship, while Aris remains without a win since the start of the season.