Bulgarian international Dimitar Dimitrov made his debut in the Polish championship, but his new team Energa Indykpol AZS Olsztyn lost their away match to SKRA Bełchatów with a score of 1:3 (20:25, 25:21, 18:25, 22:25) in a match from the sixth round of the local championship.
The Bulgarian opposite hitter, who joined Olsztyn only a few days ago, left a good impression with his performance in attack. Dimitrov converted 8 out of 12 attacks, which means a 66.7% success rate – an excellent indicator for his first match in one of the strongest championships in Europe.
Dimitrov appeared on the court as early as the second set, and in the third, he replaced Canadian Artur Szwarc and remained in play until the end of the match. The Bulgarian brought freshness to the visitors' attack, but was stopped twice by the opponent's block.
After losing the first set 20:25, Olsztyn managed to equalize the score after a 25:21 win in the second set. However, the hosts again took the initiative and won the third set 25:18.
In the fourth set, Dimitrov's team had the opportunity to send the match into a tie-break. The visitors led 11:7, but SKRA gradually erased their deficit. Strong blocking proved decisive, and the hosts closed out the match after 25:22.
The Brazilian opposite hitter of SKRA, Alan Souza, was named the most valuable player of the match.
Dimitar Dimitrov moved to the Polish club from CSKA to replace the injured Czech opposite hitter Jan Hadrava, who is out for the rest of the season due to a torn Achilles tendon. The Bulgarian international's contract is until the end of the 2026/2027 season.
Despite the defeat, the debut gives reason for optimism that Dimitrov can quickly become an important figure in Olsztyn's attack. The next challenge for the Bulgarian and his teammates is a home match against GKS Katowice on November 20.