Bulgaria took a set from the renowned Brazil, but paid a heavy price

In the third week of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in Chiba, Japan, the Bulgarian national team delivered a respectable performance against one of the giants in women's volleyball – Brazil, led by star Gabi Guimaraes and legendary coach Ze Roberto. The match ended with a 3:1 set victory for "Seleção" (25-21, 27-29, 25-10, 25-19), but the Bulgarians managed to snatch one set with heroic play. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the fourth part, libero Galina Karabasheva suffered a severe right ankle injury and was carried off the court, which overshadowed our partial success in the match.

"Galina Karabasheva suffered a serious injury (torn Achilles) during the match against Brazil in the VNL in Japan and faces a long period of recovery. We are convinced that with her character and strong spirit, she will return stronger than ever!", wrote the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation.

In the first set, our team took an early lead, but the Brazilians stabilized their reception and, with powerful serves, turned the score to 25:21.

In the second set, the Bulgarians showed incredible spirit and tactical maturity. After an initial deficit, Maria Krivoshiyska's blocks and the great play of Aleksandra Milanova and Mikaela Stoyanova tied the score. Brazil led 24:21 and had four set points, which the Bulgarians saved with excellent defense and bold attacks. At 27:27, Krivoshiyska took the initiative with a central attack and then made a block to bring Bulgaria the set 29:27, after the national team had saved a total of five set points.

The third set showcased Brazil's class, as they raised their level of serving and blocking and won decisively with 25:10.

The fourth part started tough for our team – already at 1:0, libero Galina Karabasheva sustained a right ankle injury, was carried off the court and then taken away in a cart, which affected the team's morale. Despite this, Bulgaria continued to fight, and with blocks from Lora Slavcheva, attacks from Milanova and Stoyanova, and an ace from Emileta Racheva, they remained close in score, but Brazil closed the match 25:19.

📊 Team statistics from the match:

🎯 Ball game:

⭐ Top scorers:

Bulgaria played a very brave match against the renowned Brazil. Although both teams finished with the same number of successful attacks (57 each), the Brazilians significantly excelled in aces (8 vs. 2) and took much better advantage of the opponent's errors (27 points vs. 13), which weighed in the overall score.
Bulgaria, however, showed excellent defense and organization - we have more receptions (95 vs. 71) and more sets, which speaks of great effort to build attacks. Individually, Alexandra Milanova was the top scorer in the match with 21 points, ahead of Rosamaria (18) and Stoyanova (14).