Bulgaria's national U19 team achieved a second consecutive victory at the World Championship in Tashkent, defeating a strong Chinese team 3-1 (25:17, 25:23, 22:25, 25:19). Miroslav Zhivkov's proteges demonstrated stable play and hold second position in the temporary standings of their group (Pool B), where France leads with a better point ratio. Jasmin Velichkov was above all, finishing with 25 points.
Match Chronology
First Set:Bulgaria started explosively, not giving the Asians a chance to get into rhythm - 25:17 after domination in all elements.
Second Set:Despite a more even start, our boys imposed their will in key moments and prevailed with 25:23.
Third Set:China got back into the match, taking advantage of a temporary lapse in Bulgarian concentration. Although we remained close in score, the set went in favor of the Chinese - 22:25.
Fourth Set:Bulgaria took a 20:17 lead, after which Miroslav Zhivkov called a timeout. After that, Marinov slammed a diagonal attack, followed by good defense and an out-of-bounds attack from Velichkov. A service error from China made it 23:19, Velichkov successfully attacked from zone two for match point, and setter Uzenov ended the dispute with an ace!
Match Statistics
| Team | Attacks | Block | Ace | Opponent Errors | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 52 | 13 | 4 | 28 | 97 |
| China | 51 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 84 |
Individual awards
| Player | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Zhasmin Velichkov (No. 3) | Bulgaria | 25 |
| Marinov (No. 7) | Bulgaria | 15 |
| Yu S. (No. 4) | China | 24 |
| Hu H. L. (No. 3) | China | 10 |
Defensive actions
| Team | Defensive digs | Reception | Setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 53 | 69 | 92 |
| China | 56 | 77 | 106 |
📊Bulgaria Players' Individual Statistics
| No. | Name | Position | Total Points | Attack | Block | Ace | Errors | Efficiency (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Zhasmin Velichkov (c) | Outside Hitter (OH) | 25 | 18 | 6 | 1 | - | 37.04% |
| 7 | Marinov | Opposite (O) | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | - | 13.33% |
| 2 | Nikolaev | Middle Blocker (MB) | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | - | 19.35% |
| 17 | Konstantinov | Outside Hitter (OH) | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | - | -6.67% |
| 9 | Uzunov | Setter (S) | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | - | 3.23% |
| 22 | Totkov | Middle Blocker (MB) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | -22.73% |
| 19 | Manolev | Outside Hitter (OH) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | -9.09% |
| 99 | Peychinov | Opposite (O) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.00% |
| 14 | Tiholov | Libero (L) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 20 | Petkov | Setter (S) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0.00% |
| 21 | Mihovski | Middle Blocker (MB) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 33 | Marinski | Opposite (O) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
Next challenge
Bulgaria still has excellent chances for advancing, with more tough clashes ahead in Group B. The next match is against Japan, which will largely decide our progression to the knockout phase.
photo:volleyballworld.com
