The Bulgarian men's U18 national volleyball team started its participation in the European Championship qualification tournament in Podgorica (Montenegro) with a valuable victory. The team led by coach Miro Zhivkov showed character and, after a hesitant start, turned the game around against Greece with a 3:1 (18:25, 25:21, 25:23, 25:15) win.

Coach Miroslav Zhivkov started the match with the following lineup: Pavel Dzhene, Adrian Ganev, Nikola Velikov, Nikola Gradinarov, Antoan Veselinov, Kristiyan Kosev, and libero Ivaylo Donov.

The match started evenly, but reception problems and lower attack efficiency led to losing the first set – 18:25. In the second set, the Bulgarians improved their serve quality, and blocking became a key factor. After stable play and a controlled lead, Bulgaria equalized after winning 25:21.

The third set was the most contested and lasted 31 minutes. Our national players dominated in blocking but allowed an equalizer at the end. With decisive plays by Nikola Gradinarov in attack and on serve, Bulgaria took the set 25:23 and led 2:1 in sets.

In the fourth set, Miro Zhivkov's team established complete control – stable defense, effective counter-attack, and new points from blocks ensured a comfortable lead and a 25:15 victory, finalizing the 3:1 (18:25, 25:21, 25:23, 25:15) win.

Bulgaria showed superiority in all elements, with blocking being particularly impressive – 16 points from this element. Antoan Veselinov and Nikola Gradinarov were the top scorers with 16 points each for Bulgaria's first victory in the Euro qualifiers in Podgorica.

Tournament Format and Stakes

Bulgaria is part of Group B, along with Greece and Serbia. The next challenge for the national team is against Serbia on Monday at 9:30 PM, which is practically a match for first place in the group, as with today's victory, our team qualified for the semifinals.
According to the regulations, the first two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals, which will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday. Group A includes the hosts Montenegro, as well as Turkey, Romania, and Kosovo.

The stakes in the qualification are extremely high – only the tournament winner earns a direct quota for the U18 European Championship, which will take place from July 7 to 18, 2026, in Italy. Additionally, the next four best-ranked teams from the Balkan Volleyball Association zonal tournament will proceed to the second round of qualifications (March 26 –29).

Bulgaria U18 Squad

Setters:
Nikola Velikov, Dimitar Kopanarov

Outside Hitters:
Nikola Gradinarov, Antoan Veselinov, Orlin Drumev, Kaloyan Drezgachev, Veselin Kokalov

Opposite Hitters:
Kristian Ivanov

Middle Blockers:
Pavel Dzhene, Adrian Ganev, Kristiyan Kosev, Georgi Dimitrov

Liberos:
Aleksandar Dikov, Ivaylo Donov

photo: cev.eu