Former captain of the Bulgarian national team Elitsa Vasileva-Atanasievich was included in the ideal seven of the third round of the Greek women's volleyball championship. The Panionios outside hitter earned the recognition after an impressive performance in the dramatic 3:2 (25:20, 18:25, 19:25, 25:14, 15:5) victory over champions Olympiacos.
Vasileva finished the match with 20 points, scoring 15 of 32 attacks (47% success rate) and adding an impressive 5 successful blocks.
The Bulgarian also recorded 59% positive reception, of which 29% excellent – indicators that complement her strong performance in both attack and reception.
Panionios was trailing 1:2 sets against Olympiacos, but managed to turn the tide of the derby. The hosts dominated the fourth set, won 25:14, and in the tie-break literally crushed their opponent 15:5.
The victory allowed Panionios to maintain its undefeated status after the first three rounds.
Kubura MVP, Vasileva among the honored
Panionios' other big hero was Serbian opposite Milica Kubura, who received the award for the most valuable player of the third round.
Kubura, who defended the colors of Olympiacos for the previous four seasons, scored 21 points according to the award publication, including 19 from attack, one ace, and one block.
Thus, two Panionios players were included in the ideal seven – Kubura as opposite and Vasileva-Atanasievich as outside hitter.
The symbolic team also included setter Ilka van de Vyver (AEK), outside hitter Valerica Rosado Flech (Thetis), middle blockers Athina Dimitriadis (PAOK) and Sultana Kyutsuki (Tiras), as well as libero Georgina Antonakaki (Panathinaikos).
For Vasileva, the award is another recognition of her class in the Greek championship, where the experienced Bulgarian volleyball player continues to be among the leading figures of her team.