The Bulgarian national women's U19 team continues to overflow with heroism and character! Our girls earned a place in the final of the World Championship in Osijek, Croatia, after a dramatic 3:2 (25:23, 18:25, 25:21, 23:25, 15:9) victory over the tough Turkish team. Thus, the 2024 European champions will have the opportunity to fight for the world title against the giant USA. Ironically, we defeated the Turks with the same result in the group stage. We also beat the reigning world champions 3:2 in the group phase.
Similar stories are remembered for years. Our volleyball players proved that heart, fighting spirit, and indomitable will are much more than numbers in statistics. They are the reason we dream, we are proud, and we sing "Mila Rodino" with tears in our eyes. Thus, the Bulgarian Team of the Year for 2024 made a bid for a new nomination!
The match started in perfect rhythm for Bulgaria. We took a 1-0 lead after a contested game, and then 2-1, making the stands with Bulgarian fans erupt after every point. In the fourth set, however, the pressure took its toll – although we led until the very end, three mistakes and a delayed substitution allowed Turkey to get back into the match and equalize.
And just when it seemed that the pressure might break our girls, the lionesses showed a heart rarely seen even in the most experienced champions. In the tie-break, Bulgaria took the lead, but Turkey managed to equalize (9:9), and for a moment, time seemed to stop.
Then, however, the omnipresent Veneva took responsibility — she put Bulgaria ahead (10:9), went to serve, and continued to build pressure until the opponents began to crack. Parapunova also made a perfect contribution, and the block worked precisely at the most crucial moment.
Under the pressure of this surge, Turkey began to make more and more mistakes. Just after a mistake by our southern neighbors, the first match point came (14:9), which was like an invitation to write another golden page in history. The honor of scoring the final point in this epic semi-final fell to Parapunova — after very good defense from the entire team and a first unsuccessful attack attempt, she subtly dropped the ball behind the block, crowning the hard work and dreams of an entire generation with a ticket to the World Championship final.
✨ Individual heroines
⭐Kalina Veneva – most valuable for Bulgaria withan incredible 25 points (2 blocks, 1 ace), tireless in attack and our main leader throughout the match.
💥Alexandra Kitipova (opposite) – added17 points (2 blocks and an impressive 4 aces!), which was key to keeping the Turks at bay in decisive moments.
For Turkey:
Ceylin Kuyanwas the top scorer with20 points(1 block and as many as 4 aces).
Aylin Uysalcanwith17 pts. (2 blocks)andBegüm Kaçmaz, who shone with an incredible9 blocks!, finished with16 points. But even that wasn't enough.
📊Team Statistics:Statistics 🇹🇷 Turkey 🇧🇬 Bulgaria Attacks 51 63 Blocks 19 10 Aces 6 8 Opponent Error 27 25 Total 103 106 📝 Short comment
The statistics clearly show that Bulgaria dominated in attack, realizing 63 successful attacks against 51 for Turkey, which was the main reason for the victory. In turn, the Turkish team tried to compensate with a strong block, achieving 19 blocks against 10 for our girls.
In the end, however, Bulgaria's more aggressive serve (8 aces) and slightly lower number of errors, combined with brilliant play in offense, tipped the scales and brought a valuable victory with a total of 106:103 points.
📊Technical skills:Skill 🇹🇷 Turkey 🇧🇬 Bulgaria Digs 103 105 Reception 92 96 Setting 143 158
Statistics show that Bulgaria was slightly more effective in defense, having saved more balls (105 against 103 for Turkey). Our reception was also slightly more stable. Our biggest advantage, however, comes from ball distribution, where our girls organized 15 more attacking actions, providing more options for finishing and pressuring the Turkish defense.
What now?Only one last dance remains — the grand final against the USA.
Our hearts are with you, lionesses! 🦁🇧🇬
