Bulgarian volleyball received double recognition in one of the strongest club championships in the world. Alex Grozdanov and Asparuh Asparuhov were simultaneously included in the ideal team of the third round in the Polish TAURON league for the 2026/2027 season. Such a joint award is rare, and a check of selections from last season did not find another confirmed case of the two national players being chosen together among the starters of the round.
The official website of the Polish championship published its selection of the best volleyball players from the third round on November 3. Among the seven honored, including the libero, are Bulgaria's captain Alex Grozdanov from Bogdanka LUK (Lublin) and outside hitter Asparuh Asparuhov from Slepsk Malow (Suwalki).
The two earned recognition after victories with their teams, but with different strengths – Grozdanov dominated in blocking, while Asparuhov was a leading figure in Suwalki's attack.
Asparuhov with MVP and 19 points
Asparuh Asparuhov was named the most valuable player in Slepsk Malow's 3:1 (25:21, 25:15, 19:25, 25:18) home victory over Norwid (Czestochowa).
The Bulgarian outside hitter finished the match with 19 points and an impressive 60% success rate in attack, adding four digs in defense.
In its reasoning for including him in the ideal team, the Polish league's editorial board describes him as one of Suwalki's two most important volleyball players in this match, along with opposite Bartosz Filipak.
Grozdanov with 7 blocks in one match
Alex Grozdanov also made a significant contribution to Bogdanka's success against GKS (Katowice).
The captain of Bulgaria scored 12 points, of which 7 were from blocks. In attack, he finished with 5 successful plays out of 10 attempts (50%), and also recorded two more blocks after which the ball remained in play, and one dig in defense.
Seven successful blocks in a single match is an extremely strong indicator even by the standards of the Polish championship, where play at the net is of great importance.
For Grozdanov, this is the second recognition since the start of the season. After the first round, he was included among the reserves of the ideal team, and now he takes a place among the starters.
Something we didn't see in the checked selections from last season
In the 2025/2026 season, both Bulgarian national players established themselves as important figures in their clubs, but their individual awards did not necessarily coincide in the same round.
Grozdanov found a place in the ideal team of the 13th, 22nd, and 24th rounds, and in May 2026, he was also included in the symbolic selection for the entire season, determined by Polish volleyball analyst Jakub Balcerzak.
The 22nd round of last season was particularly indicative, when Bogdanka defeated Slepsk Malow 3:2 after a Bulgarian derby between Grozdanov and Asparuhov. At that time, the middle blocker finished with 17 points, including 7 blocks, and the outside hitter was the top scorer for his team with 20 points. However, only Grozdanov was included in the ideal seven of the round.
Now the situation is different. The two national players not only play strongly for their clubs but also simultaneously receive recognition from the editorial board of the Polish championship.
Bulgarian presence among the stars of Poland
The company in which Grozdanov and Asparuhov find themselves also speaks volumes about the value of the award.
Among those selected are Polish national players Tomasz Fornal and Mateusz Bieniek, opposite Kamil Rychlicki, setter Marcin Janusz, and libero Jędrzej Gruszczyński.
With competition of such caliber, two spots for Bulgarian volleyball players in the same ideal seven are more than curious statistics.
They are an indicator of the strong presence of Bulgarian national players in Polish club volleyball already at the start of the 2026/2027 season.
