Bulgarian international Aleksandar Nikolov received prestigious recognition – the outside hitter was selected for the Dream Team of the group stage of the World Volleyball Championship.
The selection was made by the well-known Polish journalist Jakub Balcerzak, who closely follows the tournament and traditionally announces his "Team of the Week". In it, Nikolov occupies one of the two outside hitter spots alongside Poland's Kamil Semeniuk, leaving behind a number of established names.
Nikolov impressed with a combination of powerful serves, stable reception, and decisive attacks in key moments. These very qualities earned him the recognition of being among the seven best players of the first phase of the championship.
The Dream Team of the Group Stage According to Balcerzak
Setter: Micah Christenson (USA)
Opposite: Ferre Reggers (Belgium)
Middle Blocker: Berdihan Bulbul (Turkey)
Middle Blocker: Agustin Loser (Argentina)
Outside Hitter: Kamil Semeniuk (Poland)
Outside Hitter: Aleksandar Nikolov (Bulgaria)
Libero: Gorik Lantzocht (Belgium)
Additional Awards
Balcerzak also named Belgium's Ferre Reggers as MVP of the group stage, the Philippines' Bryan Bagunas as the most impressive player, and Finland's Petteri Tyynismaa as the "player to watch".
He also gave special recognition to Slovenia's Nik Mujanović, who this time is playing as an outside hitter and maintaining a high level.
Among others who impressed in the first phase were Efe Mandıracı (Turkey), Jordan Ewert (USA), Luciano Palonsky (Argentina), and Aleksandar's younger brother – Simeon (Moni) Nikolov, who also played excellent matches.
Official Statistics Confirm
The recognition from the journalistic selection is also supported by the official FIVB rankings. Aleksandar Nikolov tops the individual chart for best attacker with 63 successful attacks, surpassing Ferre Reggers (62) and Bryan Bagunas (61). In the scorers' ranking, the Bulgarian is second with 71 points – just two behind Belgium's Reggers.
These numbers confirm his status as one of the brightest young players at the World Championship and highlight that the Nikolov family is already among the great stories of the tournament.
