Bulgaria secured their third victory at the European Men's U20 Championship in Greece and Serbia. Miro Zhivkov's boys defeated the Czech Republic 3:0 (25:19, 30:28, 25:21). Thus, our team remains undefeated without losing a single set and with a full active score, topping the temporary group standings before the remaining matches are played. Bulgaria made 10 aces against only 2 for their opponent.

The most effective players for the Bulgarians were Kristiyan Titriyski with 13 points (1 block and 1 ace) and Aleksandar Kandev, who scored the same number of points (4 aces, 1 block). Moni Nikolov contributed 6 points (3 aces).

The second set proved to be the most challenging. Our team started well (3:1), followed by two ties (4:4, 5:5). The Bulgarians took a fragile 2-point lead, which fluctuated by a point more or less in our favor. After 16:17, our team managed to pull ahead to 21:17, reaching the first set point at 24:21. A mistake on our part followed, and Czech captain Matej Pasternak stepped up to serve. After his ace and our attack going out, the score was tied (24:24). The Czechs had two opportunities to close the set, but our team managed to withstand the pressure, and on Bulgaria's fifth set point, Moni Nikolov delivered an ace, securing the final 30:28.

In the third set, there was again a slight relaxation in our ranks, which allowed the Czechs to stay close to us in the score. The first match point came at 24:20, after a middle attack by Kostadin Kozelov. The Czechs managed to get a point back, but a service error followed, and the victory was confirmed.

Our team started with the following lineup:
Simeon Nikolov 6 points, Kristian Titriyski 13, Aleksandar Kandev 13, Zhasmin Velichkov 5, Stiliyan Delibosov 7, Tomislav Rusev 4 - Konstantin Chipev-libero. Kristian Andreev and Kostadin Kozelov 4 points also came in.
Tomorrow (August 29) is a rest day, and on August 30 (Friday), our boys will play against Italy. The match is at 17:30 our time.