Levski (Sofia) women's volleyball team was eliminated in the 1/32 finals of the Challenge Cup, after losing the return leg against Dutch team Apollo 8 (Borne). In their home hall, the "Blues" lost 1:3 (19:25, 25:20, 14:25, 10:25), but managed to win a set after a decisive 0:3 (18:25, 17:25, 8:25) defeat in the first match in the Netherlands.
The squad led by Dragan Nesic started the return leg hesitantly and lost the first set 19:25. However, the Bulgarian team showed significantly better play in the second part. After an even start, Levski took a 16:13 lead, extended their advantage to 21:14, and closed the set at 25:20.

This turned out to be the only set won by the Sofia team in the two matches. In the third set, the visitors again took the initiative, led 16:8, and won 25:14. In the fourth set, the Dutch team left no doubt about their superiority and finished the match after 25:10.
Yoana Montero Alcantara was the top scorer for Levski with 15 points, including 2 blocks. Venesa Radeva added 7 points, while Ella Gray and Gabriela Zhekova finished with 6 each.

For the winners, Ifke Jelsma scored 16 points, Eline Roan added 15, and Carlijn Koebruegge distinguished herself with 12.

Statistics from the official protocol of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) show a serious superiority of Apollo 8 in attack - 49 against 31 points, as well as in blocking - 14 against 5. The Dutch team finished with 10 aces against 5 for Levski. Attack efficiency was also indicative - 42% for the visitors against only 24% for the Bulgarian squad.
The match in "Levski Sofia" hall lasted 88 minutes of pure playing time in front of 158 spectators.
Thus, Levski concludes its European participation for the 2026/2027 season with two losses and an overall set ratio of 1:6 against the Dutch representative.

Photos: Nikolay Varadinov