Three of Bulgaria's national volleyball players - silver medalists from the World Championship in the Philippines - will take to the court in Italy's Marche region next weekend, when the third edition of the prestigious friendly tournament will take placeJesi Volley Cup 2025The competition, which has established itself as one of the most serious preparatory tests before the start of the SuperLega season, will be held onOctober 11 and 12at the hallPalaTriccoliin Jesi.

Petkov debuts for Grottazzolina, Tatarov enters his second season

Of particular interest to Bulgarian fans will be the first official participation ofIliya Petkovwith the team ofYuasa Battery GrottazzolinaThe middle blocker, who changed clubs this summer, will play his debut match precisely in the Marche tournament. Petkov will be accompanied by his teammate and another national player –Georgi Tatarov, who remains with Grottazzolina fora second consecutive season.

The two will take to the court in the first semi-final of the tournament against the strong team ofGas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, where a number of Serie A stars play.

Alex Nikolov will be on the court this time

Unlike last year, whenAlex Nikolovonly watched the matches from the stands, recovering from a surgical intervention, this time the outside hitter ofCucine Lube Civitanovawill be among the main figures of his team. Gianpaolo Medei's squad will start its participation in the tournament againstAllianz Milano, led by Roberto Piazza.

"Biancorossi" are the winners of the first edition of the tournament in 2023 and finalists in 2024. If they succeed against Milano, Lube will play the final for first place against the winner of the match between Grottazzolina and Piacenza. In case of a loss, Nikolov and company will fight for third place.

Jesi Volley Cup 2025 Program

The club officially announced its 'seven' for the World Championship before it started Balaso, Botolo, Gargiulo, Nikolov, D'Heer, Kukartsev, and Khanzadeh. Later, Nikolov and Italy reached the final.
Lube was among the most represented clubs in the world with 7 players in Manila. This explains why in the decisive matches we saw a direct 'internal' duel Nikolov vs. Balaso/Botolo/Gargiulo a clash of styles and serves, with high attack efficiency and key saved balls in defense by Balaso.

Allianz Milano

The club registered a total of eight "Milanesi" at the World Cup (including staff – Roberto Piazza, Iran's coach and France's scout), and of those listed above, six were players in various national teams; Reggers was the top scorer in the group stage. The strong Belgian axis (Reggers –Roti) and the presence of internationals from four continents demonstrated Allianz's broad "international" profile. Despite the early exits of Brazil and Japan, Reggers' individual performance indicators were leading, and Masulovic continued with Serbia until the elimination rounds.

Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza

Piacenza followed its internationals day by day: Galassi and Pace, who reached the final with Italy; Mandiraci continued with Turkey; Simon, Gutierrez, and Bergmann finished in the group stage.

Galassi's tactical contribution in blocking and Pace's stable reception/defensive saves were key for the "Azzurri," while Mandiraci confirmed his rise after a strong VNL. The breadth of representation (Italy, Turkey, Cuba, Brazil) shows the depth of the "Wolves'" squad.

Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina

Grottazzolina officially reported that the two "Grozzettini" Tytarov and Petkov reached the final with Bulgaria; the club also followed the winning tie-break against the USA with their key points at the end.

For a club that is just consolidating its position in the SuperLega, two figures in the "green" finalists is a strong sign. Tytarov and Petkov brought height and blocking, and their attacking dynamics were evident in the decisive sets.