Levski (Sofia) suffered a 1:3 (15:25, 19:25, 25:17, 23:25) defeat in their away match against Mladost (Zagreb) in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. The Bulgarian champion was close to forcing a tie-break after making a significant comeback in the fourth set, but the hosts managed to secure the victory.
The 'Blues' faced a squad featuring five volleyball players who participated in the Croatian men's national team in 2026 – Leo Andrić, Stipe Perić, Ivan Zeljković, Sven Jakopec, and Teo Mičetić. Added to them are former internationals Timofey Zhukovsky and Marino Marelić, as well as the Slovenian Jan Pokersnik, a European vice-champion from 2015. This makes Mladost an extremely experienced opponent, even though Croatia failed to qualify for the final phase of EuroVolley 2026.
The Croatian champion started more convincingly and won the first two sets, dictating the pace of the game. Levski, however, found an answer in the third part. The 'Blues' took an 8:2 lead, extended their advantage to 16:9 and 21:12, and reduced their deficit after a decisive 25:17.
The fourth set proved to be the most dramatic. Mladost again took the initiative and led 8:3, 16:11, and 21:14. With a seven-point deficit, Levski seemed on the verge of defeat, but the Bulgarian volleyball players organized an impressive comeback and brought intrigue back into the final rallies. Their efforts, however, were not enough for a tie-break, and the hosts closed the match with 25:23 after 30 minutes of play in the last set.
The most effective player for Levski was Kristian Titriyski with 25 points, including 22 from attack, 2 aces, and 1 block. Svetoslav Ivanov added 15 points and an impressive 67% success rate in attack.
For Mladost, Sven Jakopec finished with 16 points, including 7 blocks, while Leo Andrić, well-known to Levski, scored 15. Ivan Zeljković added 14, and Stipe Perić – 13 points.
Andrić's repeated participation against the Bulgarian champion is interesting. Last season, the Croatian opposite wore the jersey of Mursa (Osijek), which was eliminated by Levski in the same European tournament. At that time, he scored 36 points in the first match and another 18 in the return leg in Sofia. Now, Andrić once again stood in the 'Blues'' path, but with Mladost's jersey.
Statistics show a significant advantage for the Croatian team in blocking – 14 points against 8. Levski had a slight advantage from service with 7 aces against 6 and matched their opponent in successful attacks – 47 each.
The match in the "Dom odbojke Bojan Stranić" hall in Zagreb lasted 94 minutes and was watched by 500 spectators.