A year after winning the European title, Bulgaria also triumphed on the world stage. The Bulgarian national team for girls under 19 years old won the gold medals at the World Championship in Osijek, Croatia. The girls of coach Atanas Petrov dethroned the current world champion USA, defeating them 3:1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 29-27) sets and deservedly climbed to the highest step of the podium. The victory took place in front of the president of CEV, the Croatian Rok Sikiric.

Historic success for Bulgarian volleyball

This is the second world title in the history of Bulgarian volleyball for young people, after the success of the boys in distant 1991 in Cairo. Thus, Bulgaria adds another gold to its collection and once again proves that it is among the leading forces in this sport.

Golden heroines

The excellent performances of the following led us to this success:

• Alexandra Kitipova

• Darina Naneva

• Edna Todorova

• Kalina Veneva

• Denitsa Angelova

• Dimana Ivanova

• Vyara Parapunova

• Simona Ivanova

• Victoria Ninova

• Nicol Okoro

• Stefani Dyankova

• Elisaveta Sarieva

Their talent, fighting spirit, and indomitable will turned dreams into reality and brought pride to all of Bulgaria.

The final of the U19 Girls' World Championship in Osijek started nervously for Bulgaria. Right at the beginning, the USA set the pace and took a 6:1 lead, capitalizing on powerful attacks by Jordan Taylor and Macaria Spears, as well as several errors by the Bulgarians. Coach Atanas Petrov reacted quickly and called a time-out, but the Americans continued to press and increased the difference to 10:4.

After a skillful drop shot by Suleine Davis, the score became 14:7 and Petrov was forced to call a second time-out. Gradually, our girls found their rhythm and after a good attack by Kalina Veneva and an error by the Americans, they reduced the deficit to 13:18. Bulgaria showed character and, through a series of serves by Denitsa Angelova, melted the deficit to 17:21.

However, Alexandra Kitipova sent the ball out of bounds, followed by an ace from Gabrielle Nichols, and the score became 20:13. A strong run by our team led to 20:23 after two out-of-bounds attacks by Henley Anderson, but the USA still closed the set 25:21 after a drop shot by Davis.

The second set started much more evenly, with the score moving point for point until 5:5. The Bulgarians took the initiative after a missed serve by the USA and an ace by Darina Naneva for 7:5. The Americans tied at 7:7, but three consecutive great attacks by Veneva followed, and the score swelled to 10:7.

Dimana Ivanova added an ace, and another opponent's error made the score 12:7. A back-row counter-attack by Edna Todorova and subsequent USA errors propelled Bulgaria ahead to 14:7. Our team maintained a stable lead, and after a quick attack through the center by Naneva, they led 18:11.

At 22:13, after an out by substitute Kelli Kinney and an excellent block by Naneva, the set was practically decided. The Bulgarians closed the set 25:16 after a USA serve out and leveled the sets at 1:1.

In the third set, Bulgaria entered confidently and quickly took a 7:2 lead after two blocks by Angelova and strong performances by Kitipova and Todorova. A timeout for the USA didn't help, and after a block-out by Todorova, the score became 8:2.

The Bulgarians kept the tempo high, and at 12:6 after an ace by Todorova, it already seemed that the Americans were broken. Another block-out by Kitipova and opponent errors made the difference 16:9.

An ace by Dimana Ivanova increased the lead to 20:9, and our team calmly closed the set at 25:17 after an attack by the returning Vyara Parapunova, to take a 2:1 lead.

The fourth set was a true battle. Until 4:4, the two teams exchanged points, but two counter-attacks through the center by Naneva and an ace by Kitipova gave Bulgaria an advantage – 7:4. The USA quickly responded, and after a block-out by Kinney, they tied at 9:9.

After an attack out by Veneva and an ace by Davis, the Americans took a 12:10 lead, which forced Petrov to call a timeout. The USA even pulled ahead to 13:10 after a block by Kinney, but Bulgaria showed enormous heart.

A service error and a counter-attack by Todorova tied the score at 14:14. A block by Naneva and an error by Spears brought Bulgaria ahead to 16:14, and after another block by Naneva and an out by Kinney, it became 18:14.

However, the USA didn't give up and reduced the deficit to 20:17 after three of our errors, but an attack by Naneva and an ace by Kitipova restored the advantage to 22:17. Again, the Americans came back into the match, and after blocks by Emch and Kinney, they reached 22:21, and then 22:22 after a counter-attack by Davis.

At 23:23, Kinney blocked and gave the USA a set point – 24:23. A service error by the Americans followed, and a counter-attack by Angelova for a match point for Bulgaria – 25:24. Davis tied for 25:25, Veneva made it 26:25, but again an error led to 26:26.

Spears executed a counter-attack and gave the USA a second set point – 27:26. But then two errors by the Americans made the score 28:27 for Bulgaria. A block by Denitsa Angelova followed, and with 29:27, Bulgaria won the set, the match 3:1, and claimed the world title!

📌Team statistics:

The USA team had a slight advantage in attack and block (46 vs 45 and 11 vs 10), but Bulgaria compensated with more aces (8 vs 5) and most importantly with significantly more points from opponent errors – 37 vs 23. Thus, although the Americans were slightly more effective in direct actions, the Bulgarians showed greater resilience and forced their opponent to make mistakes, which secured them an advantage in the total number of points – 100 vs 85.

📌Individual Skills:

Bulgaria stood out with excellent defense, recording more digs (105 compared to 87), which showed the team's defensive stability and good reading of USA's attacks. However, the Americans excelled in reception (87 to 68), which allowed them to organize cleaner attacks. The Bulgarians compensated with slightly more activity in setting and more diverse attacks (137 vs 133).

📌Best Players:

The most prolific for the USA was Davis with 17 points, followed by Spears with 12. For Bulgaria, the leadership was shared between Naneva and Kitipova, who scored 14 points each. This shows a better distribution of attacks and responsibility among our girls, while the American team relied more on Davis.

📌 Individual statistics of Bulgarian players: