CSKA won the Eternal Derby in the women's Demax+ League, after defeating Levski 3:2 (25:20, 25:15, 23:25, 23:25, 15:13) in a dramatic match that lasted 125 minutes.
The "Reds" had full control of the match in the first two sets and took a 2:0 lead, but allowed their opponents to come back into the game and force a tie-break.
After a relatively contested first set, won 25:20, CSKA demonstrated even greater superiority in the second and closed it at 25:15.
Levski, however, refused to give up. The "Blues" found a way to counter their opponent and won two consecutive extremely contested sets with 25:23 each, restoring equality.
Thus, the outcome was left to the tie-break, in which CSKA managed to withstand the pressure and reach victory with 15:13.
Nicole Okoro was the top scorer for the winners with 23 points, followed by Madlen Miteva with 21 and Eva Kamenska with 16.
For Levski, Yoanna Alcantara scored an impressive 27 points and became the top scorer in the match. Gabriela Zhekova added 13, while Venesa Radeva and Krasimira Garova finished with 12 each.
Statistics show a curious tie in two of the main elements - both teams scored 51 points from attack and 17 from block. The difference came mainly from the serve, where CSKA recorded 15 aces against 8 for Levski.
Thus, the "Reds" won one of the most dramatic clashes since the start of the season, while Levski managed to come back from 0:2, but remained two points short of a complete turnaround.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov