Volley Week logo

VOLLEY WEEK

Rusi Zhelev and Denis Karyagin with a major contribution to Macerata's first victory

VolleyWeek

VolleyWeek

October 21, 2025 at 08:00

Rusi Zhelev and Denis Karyagin with a major contribution to Macerata's first victory

ForBanca Macerata, the season in Serie A2 started with a tough, but well-deserved 3:2 (26:28, 25:21, 25:21, 21:25, 15:10) away victory against Sviluppo Sud Catania. The match in 'PalaCatania' hall was a true five-set battle, filled with very high-level rallies, in which the two Bulgarian national players in Macerata's squad – Rusi Zhelev and Denis Karyagin – left a strong mark.


Image

Head coach Giacomo Giannini relied on our two national players as the main pair of receivers – Zhelev and Karyagin. Both repaid with impressive stability in reception and efficiency in attack.

  • Denis Karyagin finished the match with 26 points, being the most consistent player after MVP Marco Novello (28 pts). The Bulgarian scored 3 aces and several decisive attacks in the tie-break, including the point for 2:7, which definitively broke the hosts' resistance.

  • Rusi Zhelev added 14 points, and besides his offense, he distinguished himself with excellent serving – his service run led to a turnaround in the third set at a score of 21:21. Furthermore, the Bulgarian was among the most effective receivers on the court (over 60% positive reception according to Italian statistics).

The match started evenly, with Catania taking the first set after a hard-fought battle (28:26). From then on, Macerata showed character and volleyball maturity, turning the score around with two consecutive sets.

A key moment occurred in the third set when, at 21:21, Novello made two consecutive aces, but it was Zhelev who had previously tied the score with a strong diagonal attack.

In the fourth set, the hosts, led by veteran Osmany Marshall, brought back the intrigue, but in the tie-break, the Bulgarian duo once again led Banca Macerata's offense – Karyagin with a diagonal point and Zhelev with a powerful serve started the run that decided the match.


Image

📊 Table with main statistics

PlayerPointsAcesBlocksReception (%)
Marco Novello2821-
Denis Karyagin263158%
Rusi Zhelev142062%
Mohamed Fall913-
Anthony Ambrose511-


The figures clearly show how evenly distributed the attack was. Although Novello grabbed the MVP award, Karyagin and Zhelev were the ones who provided the necessary balance between attack and stable reception. It was their work that allowed setter Pedron to develop a fast and effective volleyball game, with which Macerata overcame the pressure from Catania.

Italian media highlighted the Bulgarian duo of outside hitters as 'Macerata's strong point, which made the difference in the most tense moments'.

Banca Macerata's first success in the second tier of Italian volleyball bears a distinct Bulgarian imprint. Rusi Zhelev and Denis Karyagin not only established themselves as starters but also showed that they can be the driving force behind a team with ambitions for Serie A1. If they continue with similar performances, the 2025/26 season could become one of the most memorable for the Bulgarian presence in Italian volleyball.
'Chi ben comincia è a metà dell’opera' – he who starts well has half finished the work., reads the Italian proverb with which Macerata's club website began its match report.