The Bulgarian national team for boys under 16 started their participation in the European Championship with an impressive 3:1 victory over Ukraine (25:16, 25:23, 15:25, 25:19). The match took place on July 23 in the hall of the Russian-Armenian University in Yerevan.
The selection, led bySvetozar Ivanov, demonstrated a stable and mature game in almost all elements.
| Name | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Milko Bagdasarov | Outside Hitter | Arda |
| Deyan Angelov | Outside Hitter | VASK |
| Ivan Antonov | Outside Hitter | Montana |
| Kayo Pavlov | Outside Hitter | VASK |
| Konstantin Tsanev | Setter | Cherno More |
| Angel Tonkov | Setter | Arda |
| Pavel Dimitrov | Middle blocker | Levski Sofia |
| Krastin Ilov | Middle blocker | CSKA |
| Ivan Velichkov | Middle blocker | Minyor |
| Georgi Zlatanov | Middle blocker | VASK |
| Ivan Kamenow | Middle blocker | Levski Sofia |
| Ivaylo Kolev | Diagonal | Beroe 2016 |
| Ivan Habov | Libero | Levski Sofia |
| Dean Lakov | Libero | Izgrev |
🏐 Match development:
The Bulgarian boys started confidently, dictating the pace from the very beginning of the first game, which they won convincingly with 25:16. In the second game, the "lion cubs" also entered with self-confidence, but the opponent put up serious resistance. Ukraine equalized in the middle (7:7), but ours pulled ahead at 15:12. The game ended dramatically at 25:23 in favor of Bulgaria.
Ukraine took the initiative in the third set and won with 25:15, but Bulgaria had the last word. The fourth game was again under the control of our team – good serve, stable block, and concentration in defense brought the final 25:19.
🌟 Best players:
🇧🇬
Milko Bagdasarov– 17 points (15 attack, 2 blocks)
Ivan Antonov– 16 points (3 aces, 1 block)
Dean Lakov- stable reception and important defensive interventions
🇺🇦
Hlib Nedostup- 15 points (1 ace, 1 block)
Andriy Shyschak- 12 points
Andriy Merkulov- 7 successful receptions
📊 Match statistics:
| Category | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 🇺🇦 Ukraine |
|---|---|---|
| Attacks with point | 44 | 41 |
| Point blocks | 8 | 7 |
| Aces | 2 | 5 |
| Points from opponent errors | 29 | 25 |
| Total points | 82 | 79 |
| Duration | 88 minutes | - |
| Spectators | 35 | - |
Comment:
Although Ukraine was more effective on serve (5 aces against 2), Bulgaria dominated in attack and won more points from opponent's errors. The combined effectiveness of attack and block, plus stable reception, gave our team the upper hand.
📅 Next matches:
July 24, 11:30 AM Bulgarian time:Bulgaria vs France
July 24, 4:30 PM Bulgarian time:Ukraine vs Italy
