No one considered the Bulgarian U21 girls among the favorites at the World Championship in Surabaya (Indonesia). But the girls of coach Dragan Nesic rewrote the predictions – they reached the semi-finals and are now in the world's top 4, where they will play for the bronze medals.
In the semi-final clash, the national team fought достойно, but lost to the powerful team of Japan with 0:3 (17:25, 18:25, 13:25). Thus, the young "lionesses" missed the chance to compete for the title, but earned the right to play in a match for the bronze – an achievement that Bulgaria had not achieved in this age group since distant 2009.
The match for the medal
Bulgaria's opponent for third place will be Brazil, which earlier in the day lost 0:3 to Italy. The match for the bronze medals is tomorrow (August 17) at 12:00 PM Bulgarian time. The final Japan – Italy is scheduled for 3:00 PM. Our team will once again face an opponent that was in our group. From Pool D was also the team of Japan, which suggests that this was the strongest group of the championship, from which two teams will be on the podium.
Individual performances
Again, the most effective player for our team was Iva Dudova with 15 points. Captain Viktoria Koeva finished with 8 points, including 3 successful blocks and 1 ace.
For Japan, the excellent players were Koyumi Fukumura (also with 2 blocks) and Sae Omori – both scored 13 points each.
Match statistics
| Indicator | Bulgaria | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 28 | 51 |
| Block | 9 | 3 |
| Serve | 1 | 5 |
| Opponent errors | 10 | 16 |
| Total points | 48 | 75 |
The Japanese won the match thanks to their huge superiority in attack (51 vs 28 points). Nevertheless, the Bulgarians dominated in blocking – 9 successful blocks against only 3 for the Asians, which shows good organization of our defense at the net.
| Element | Bulgaria | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive digs | 72 | 94 |
| Reception | 69 | 45 |
| Setting | 97 | 116 |
Our girls performed excellently in reception (69 accurate receptions against 45 for Japan), but the Japanese had more defensive digs and better setting, which gave them rhythm and superiority in attack.
Regardless of tomorrow's result against Brazil, this team has already made history – Bulgaria's best placement at a U21 Women's World Championship since 2009.
The young "lionesses" have already proven that they can stand up to the strongest in the world – and now they have a chance to crown their fairy-tale performance with a medal.
