Bulgarian nationals topped the individual rankings at the World Championship

After the second matches and before the last one of the group stage, a number of our national players took the top spots in various individual rankings. From scorers to receivers, Bulgarian players showed they can compete with the biggest stars in world volleyball.

Best Scorers

Rank	Name	Team	Points	Attack	Block	Serve
1	A. Nikolov	BUL	54	48	3	3
2	Koukartsev	ARG	41	32	6	3

Aleksandar Nikolovis the undisputed leader among scorers – 54 points, 48 of which from attack. This is a demonstration of consistency and class that ranks him among the best in the world. Second is his future teammate at Lube, Pablo Koukartsev.

Best Attackers

Rank	Name	Team	Points	Errors	Attempts	Average per match	Success Rate	Total
1	A. Nikolov	BUL	48	15	96	24.00	50.00	96
2	Koukartsev	ARG	32	6	63	16.00	50.79	63

Aleksandar Nikolovis also the most effective attacker with almost 100 attacks and a stable efficiency of 50%. The volume of his plays speaks to the immense trust his team has in him.

Best blockers

Rank	Name	Team	Blocks	Errors	Digs	Average per match	Efficiency %	Total
1	Petkov	BUL	7	8	4	3.50	-5.26	19
1	Grozdanov	BUL	7	7	6	3.50	0.00	20

Two Bulgarians at the top of the ranking –Alex GrozdanovandIliya Petkov– demonstrate the strength of our block.

This is a clear sign of stability in the center of the net.

Best Servers

Rank	Name	Team	Points	Errors	Attempts	Average per match	Success Rate	Total
1	Mandiraja	TUR	9	9	17	4.50	25.71	35
2	Ahhii	NED	8	8	14	4.00	26.67	30
3	Garcia	USA	6	6	13	3.00	24.00	25
3	McCarthy	CAN	6	6	22	3.00	17.65	34
3	S. Nikolov	BUL	6	7	18	3.00	19.35	31

In the group in third place, three players share the position: American Garcia, Canadian McCarthy (Alex Grozdanov's teammate in the Polish "Bogdanka") andSimeon Nikolov, who, despite 7 errors, demonstrated an aggressive serve and showed that he can be a decisive factor from the service line.

Best Setters

Rank	Name	Team	Successful	Errors	Attempts	Average per match	Success Rate	Total
1	De Cecco	ARG	92	0	171	46.00	53.80	171
3	Fernando	BRA	88	1	158	44.00	55.70	158
8	S. Nikolov	BUL	64	1	173	32.00	36.99	173

Simeon Nikolovis in the company of the legend De Cecco and the wizard Fernando. This is a huge recognition of his talent and future as a setter for the national team.

Best defenders (digs)

Rank	Name	Team	Digs	Errors	Receptions	Average per match	Success Rate	Total
1	B. Bayraktar	TUR	24	2	7	12.00	72.73	33
6	D. Kolev	BUL	13	11	4	6.50	46.43	28

The absolute debutantDamyan Koleventers the Top 10 among defenders, which is a rare achievement for such a young player.

Best Receivers

Rank	Name	Team	Successful	Errors	Attempts	Average per match	Success Rate	Total
1	Palonsky	ARG	20	4	72	10.00	27.78	72
5	D. Kolev	BUL	13	3	57	6.50	22.81	57
7	M. Atanasov	BUL	11	3	41	5.50	26.83	41

Bulgaria once again with two representatives in the elite – Damian Kolev and Martin Atanasov. The latter plays for Italian Monza this season, which is an excellent opportunity to further develop his potential.

After the second round in the groups, Bulgaria is among the most strongly represented nations in the individual rankings. From Aleksandar Nikolov, who is No. 1 among scorers, through the stable blockers Petkov and Grozdanov, to Simeon Nikolov, Damian Kolev, and Martin Atanasov, who enter several categories, our national players prove they possess the class to be competitive with the world elite.

Photos: Nikolay Varadinov