Bulgarian champion Maritsa (Plovdiv) was eliminated from the Champions League after losing their second match against Azerbaijani Turan (Tovuz) with a score of 0:3 (22:25, 17:25, 23:25). Thus, for the first time in nine years, the team from Plovdiv will not participate in the group stage of the most prestigious European club tournament.
In front of 2100 spectators in the Olympic Hall in Tovuz, the hosts achieved a historic success, securing their debut participation in the Champions League group stage.
In the first set, Turan took the initiative early on and led 8:4, 16:13, and 21:18. The Bulgarian team tried to catch up, but the Azerbaijani squad closed the set at 25:22 after 29 minutes of play.
The second set was entirely under the control of the hosts. Turan led 8:3, increased their lead to 16:10 and 21:14, and finished the set with 25:17.
Maritsa's most significant opportunities came in the third set. The Plovdiv team started strong and led 8:4, then maintained a minimal advantage at 16:15. However, Turan turned the tide, went ahead 21:20, and reached the final 25:23.
Alexandra Kitipova was the top scorer for Maritsa with 12 points, including 3 successful blocks and one ace. Ana Peichich added 9 points, while Boryana Angelova and Elena Becheva finished with 6 each.
For the winners, Elizaveta Ruban scored 13 points, and Lee Jae-yeong and Maria Kirilyuk added 8 each.
Statistics from the official protocol of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) show that Maritsa had an advantage in blocking with 12 against 9 points, but significantly lagged in attack – 24 against 33 successful attacks. The effectiveness of the Plovdiv team in attack was only 25% against 34% for Turan.
The Bulgarian champion also made 15 service errors against 10 for the opponent, with the two teams scoring 5 and 6 aces respectively.
The difference in attack proved decisive, despite Maritsa's better blocking play.
After being eliminated from the Champions League, the Plovdiv team continues its European participation in the CEV Cup tournament, where they will face Croatian ZOK Ribola Kaštela.