The Bulgarian national volleyball team failed to secure at least one point against the current European champion Poland, losing their match 1:3 sets in the Japanese city of Fukuoka.

Our team started with: Simeon Nikolov, Dimitar Dimitrov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Georgi Tatarov, Alex Grozdanov, Iliya Petkov, and libero Martin Bozhilov, who overcame the muscle pain he experienced in the days leading up to the tournament in Japan. The "Lions" and "Poland's Squad" began the first set point for point, after which, past the midpoint of the set, our boys forged a minimal lead, which they ultimately materialized into a numerical expression of the match – 1:0 after 25:21. Very strong play by our attackers, both in attack and on the block, led to a deserved success in this first set, with our setter Simeon Nikolov skillfully orchestrating our game.

The second set again started evenly, but Poland quickly managed to pull ahead by a 4-point margin, which our boys managed to equalize at 13:13. In this part, our second setter Svetoslav Stankov entered the game. The tie in the set was maintained until 17:17, when Poland played more concentrated, being the more experienced and skilled team. Our opponent also capitalized on the 'Lions'' service errors, which began to increase precisely from the second set. The Poles leveled the score with a mirrored result of the first set, 21:25.

The start of the third set was missed by our team, as "Poland's Squad" immediately built a lead at 8:3. Unfortunately, despite our attempts to get as close as possible to the opponent, the current European champion maintained a stable lead in the set, allowing them to comfortably close it at 19:25 and 1:2 sets.

The fourth set brought changes to Bulgaria's lineup, with Samuil Valchinov, Boris Nachev, and Vladimir Garkov joining the game, and it was evident that they were feeling apprehensive. Poland again easily forged a comfortable 8:2 lead, which was maintained until the very end of the set and the match. This is something an extremely skilled and experienced team can do with ease. The fourth set and the match itself ended at 18:25, resulting in a 1:3 score for Poland.

The loss is by no means surprising, but we are left with bitterness and frustration that due to the extremely high number of service errors and the low number of aces throughout the match, we could not put real pressure on Poland. Our team managed to give away an entire set just from botched serves, which is too much in modern men's volleyball.

We must acknowledge the strong offensive play of Georgi Tatarov and especially the left-handed Dimitar Dimitrov, who are showing increasing confidence from match to match. The intelligent and at the same time simplified play of our playmaker Simeon Nikolov was evident throughout the match, but our "Lions" are still growing. The most effective players for our team were Mitko Dimitrov and Zhoro Tatarov, with 18 and 9 points respectively. Alex Grozdanov, Moni Nikolov, and Iliya Petkov each recorded 7 points. Unfortunately, Asparuh Asparuhov had an off day today, scoring only 3.

On the other side of the net, the most prominent player for Poland was outside hitter Tomasz Fornal with 14 points, followed by middle blocker Norbert Huber with 12. "Poland's Squad" star Bartosz Kurek contributed 10 points, and the other outside hitter Aleksander Sliwka finished the match with 7 points.

It is a fact that the Poles did not play the match with all their starting players, but their squad is extremely versatile and evenly matched – something we unfortunately cannot boast about at this stage.

Gianlorenzo Blengini once again reiterated that he will work on the mentality and psyche of our boys. These things will gradually be ironed out in the process of work between matches and training sessions.

Georgi Tatarov shared his disappointment after the match with a reporter from the volleyball media covering the League, while also calling on fans for support. Supporters always stand behind Bulgaria, and this will not change, which is extremely important for our young and inexperienced team.

Bulgaria's next match in the Japanese city of Fukuoka is on June 6th against Germany. The match will be broadcast live on Max Sport channels again in the early morning at 09:30.