Levski's volleyball players snatched a dramatic victory in their away game against Minyor (Pernik) with3:2(18:25,25:22,18:25,25:15,16:14)in a match from the fifth round of the women's Demax+ league championship. The match lasted two hours, and the "Blues" had to save a match point in the tie-break before reaching success.
Dragan Nesic's squad, which could not rely on the injured setter Dimana Ivanova, replaced by Liana Vasileva, twice fell behind in the sets but found the strength to turn the game around.
The first set was evenly matched until 16:15 for the hosts, after which Minyor built up a lead and took the lead. In the second set, Levski responded with more confident play and a six-point advantage. The Pernik team narrowed the gap at the end, but the Sofia team managed to equalize.
The third set again passed under the dictation of the hosts. After 10:10, Minyor asserted dominance and won 25:18 to take a 2:1 lead. Faced with defeat, Levski's volleyball players reacted convincingly in the fourth set. They built up a ten-point lead and after 25:15 sent the match into a tie-break.
The decisive fifth set offered real drama. The two teams went point for point, and Minyor was the first to have the opportunity to close the match at 14:13. However, the "Blues" saved the match point, then won two more consecutive rallies and reached victory with 16:14.
Joana Alcantara was again the top scorer for Levski with 24 points, including one ace and one successful block. Elena Kolarova added 17 points, impressing with six successful blocks and one ace. Gabriela Zhekova also made a significant contribution to the success with 13 points, one of which was a block.
After the dramatic success, Levski now has three wins, one loss, and nine points, which places them third in the provisional standings. Maritsa is the leader with four wins and 12 points, followed by CSKA with four wins and 11 points. Minyor suffered its fourth defeat and occupies the eighth position.
Nesic: Against CSKA we made 47 errors, today 40
Despite the victory, Levski's head coach Dragan Nesic did not hide his concerns about the large number of errors made by his players.
"Congratulations to Minyor, a wonderful game, they played very well. I wish them to always play like this, it raises the level of the championship. We are in a phase where we had two important matches with CSKA and Minyor. We had 47 errors against CSKA, today we have 40 errors. Many of these errors today, Minyor, on the other hand, managed to direct us to make mistakes. I am happy for the audience, I am extremely proud of my team. We have a lot of work, but we still have time to analyze the errors," commented the specialist to BNT.
A total of87 errors in the last two matchesis an indicator that Levski's coaching staff will have to work on. Nevertheless, the Sofia team showed character and managed to win a match in which they seemed close to defeat several times.
For Minyor, the disappointment remains from the missed opportunity to win against one of the leading teams in the championship. However, the Pernik team showed that they can be a serious obstacle for the favorites and deservedly took a point from the match.
photos: Nikolay Varadinov
