The Bulgarian star became part of Panionios' historic success, which won its first title in the club's 99-year history after a midnight thriller against Olympiacos.

The Bulgarian started the final as a starter, but during the dramatic match, she was substituted by head coach Dragan Nesic at a difficult moment for the team. Later, at 12-10 in the tie-break, Vasileva returned to the court and, together with Maria Nomikou, formed a key tandem at the net, leading to a decisive series of blocks that definitively broke Olympiacos' resistance. Elitsa Vasileva-Atanasijevic finished with 7 points, 7/26 attacks, 52% positive reception, 18% excellent reception.

Panionios defeated Olympiacos 3:2 (25:22, 21:25, 26:24, 22:25, 15:12) in a match that lasted 136 minutes, and lifted the Greek Super Cup after a true midnight thriller. Thus, the team from Nea Smyrni ended a 99-year wait for a trophy, having been among the pioneers in establishing women's volleyball teams in the country as early as 1926.

Last season, Panionios was again close to making history but lost the Cup final 2:3 after Koumboura decided everything in the tie-break. This time, the scenario was different.

One of the key moments in the match came in the third set, when Olympiacos was leading 24:21. A series of attacks, blocks, and serves turned the score to 26:24 and gave Panionios a serious psychological boost. In the fifth set, Olympiacos' best player remained scoreless, and the course of the tie-break turned into a true chess battle.

Zahaiou was the big figure of the final, playing a high-level match specifically against her former club. With 1 ace, 13/16 attacks, 7 blocks, and numerous saved balls in defense, she dominated at the net.

In the tie-break, Maria Nomikou played a decisive role – also a former Olympiacos player, having made 4 blocks at the most critical moments (3-2, 3-4, 12-13, 12-15). Rahimova had her best match in Greece with 29/49 attacks (59%), and Xanthopoulou was stable in defense and reception.

Nesic: "Panionios is building something big"

After the historic success, Panionios' head coach Dragan Nesic, who led our women's U21 national team to fourth place in the world in Surabaya, Indonesia, did not hide his satisfaction:

"This trophy is certainly extremely important for our team. For us, this is a historic victory – after so many years, the cup is now with Panionios. However, I believe that this is just the beginning of something very good that the club is trying to build."

The words of the Serbian specialist fully correspond with the path the club has taken in recent years – targeted investments in players, infrastructure, and organization, which led to the first trophy in its history.