Aleksandar Nikolov continues to be among the most discussed young volleyball players in Europe, with his name again coming into focus after a post on the About Volleyball Worldwide profile on X, where the Bulgarian is placed first in an unofficial statistical selection for receivers born after 2000.
The table from X (post on About Volleyball Worldwide)
| Rank | Player | Points/match |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleksandar Nikolov | 21,0 |
| 2 | Mathis Henno | 17,3 |
| 3 | Noumory Keita | 15,5 |
| 4 | Alessandro Michieletto | 15,2 |
| 5 | Vlad Davyskiba | 14,2 |
| 6 | Asparuh Asparuhov | 13,9 |
| 20 | Georgi Tatarov | 7,3 |
| 26 | Zhasmin Velichkov | 4,3 |
On this occasion, we collected and organized the official data from Serie A1 in Italy and PlusLiga in Poland, to see how the numbers of young Bulgarians look in the two elite championships.
Official data: young Bulgarians (2000+) in Italy and Poland
| Player (year of birth) | League | Matches | Sets | Total points | Aces | Service errors | Receptions | Reception errors | Negative | Perfect | Perfect % | Attacks | Attack errors | Blocked | Points from attack | Attack % | Points from block |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleksandar Nikolov (2003) | Italy (A1) | 19 | 71 | 394 | 55 | 78 | 172 | 19 | 65 | 51 | 29,7% | 623 | 50 | 61 | 319 | 51,2% | 20 |
| Asparuh Asparuhov (2000) | Poland (PlusLiga) | 18 | 65 | 248 | 24 | 57 | 423 | 29 | 113 | 54 | 12,77% | 411 | 32 | 24 | 208 | 50,61% | 16 |
| Georgi Tatarov (2004) | Italy (A1) | 19 | 51 | 139 | 9 | 45 | 196 | 19 | 101 | 37 | 18,9% | 280 | 16 | 29 | 117 | 41,8% | 13 |
| Jasmin Velichkov (2007) | Italy (A1) | 20 | 45 | 82 | 4 | 13 | 143 | 13 | 46 | 42 | 29,4% | 144 | 11 | 10 | 66 | 45,8% | 12 |
The biggest difference comes with Nikolov, who has the most significant volume and production \u2013 394 points, of which 319 are from attack, plus an impressive 55 aces, making him a factor not only in offense but also in serving. Asparuhov shows the profile of an outside hitter with a huge workload in first contact \u2013 423 receptions, combined with stable attacking (208 points from attack at 50.61%), but also with a higher risk on serve (57 errors). Tatarov is more limited in scoring (139 points) and shows a more difficult season in reception (high number of negative receptions \u2013 101), while Velichkov, despite a smaller role in attack, impresses with a very good percentage of perfect reception (29.4%) for a player born in 2007.
An important clarification is that Aleksandar Nikolov has had a mixed role at Lube this season \u2013 besides being an outside hitter, in certain matches and rotations, he also plays as an opposite, in a system with three outside hitters. This logically affects the accumulated points and attacking volume, but also makes direct comparisons with players who are \u201cpure\u201d outside hitters or \u201cpure\u201d opposite hitters more conditional. That is precisely why official data is the best guide \u2013 it shows not only the scoring efficiency, but also the real profile of the workload in attack, reception, and serve.
Ultimately, such rankings and selections on social media are a good occasion to highlight the strong seasons of young players, but the clearest picture always comes from the official league statistics. And for the Bulgarians, the numbers are more than eloquent \u2013 Nikolov is already a factor at the highest level in Italy, Asparuhov is accumulating a significant volume and responsibilities in Poland, while Tatarov and Velichkov continue to seek their place and role in one of the toughest leagues in the world.
