Huge amplitudes for the "Lionesses" and a new grueling Asian challenge
Our "Lionesses" started with the following lineup: Petya Barakova - captain, Merelin Nikolova, Maria Yordanova, Miroslava Paskova, Maria Krivoshiyska, Aleksandar Saykova, and libero Mila Pashkuleva.
The first set began with a lead for the Thais, who went up 7:4, but our girls equalized at 9:9. Thailand again took the lead, this time by 4 points – 16:12, calmly maintaining their advantage. Bulgaria, however, regrouped and caught up with their opponent, leveling the score at 23:23. Unfortunately, Thailand closed the first set at 25:23.
The second part started calmly until 5:5, after which our "Lionesses" took an 8:6 lead. The game continued to be point-for-point, with our girls occasionally pulling slightly ahead. Bulgaria definitely reduced errors and at the same time increased concentration, managing to open a 4-point gap – 19:15. The Thais narrowed the lead to 22:21, but the better play of our volleyball players allowed them to close the set three times after 24:21, after Merelin Nikolova showed a good serve. On their second opportunity, Bulgaria won the set at 25:22 and equalized at 1:1.
Thailand quickly took the lead at the start of the third part, opening a 5:1 advantage. Our head coach Lorenzo Micelli called a timeout, which yielded results – the "Lionesses" equalized at 8:8 after good attacks from our side of the court. The game was evenly matched until about the middle of the set. After 14:13 for the opponent, Thailand again opened a lead, which swelled to 6 points – 19:13. This happened not least with the main help of our team, which started making many elementary mistakes in ball handling and subsequent attacks. Thailand calmly closed the set in their favor at 25:18, thereby again taking the lead in the score and in terms of sets – 2:1.
The fourth part started again without a clear leader in the score, but our volleyball players played much more concentrated – we started accumulating a lead after 8:6. This gave the necessary result because gradually Bulgaria managed to better control what was happening on the court, managing to open a comfortable 6-point difference at 14:8. Our volleyball players skillfully continued to maintain the lead – 19:14, after exchanging points with the Thais. Our opponents narrowed the difference to 3 points at 20:17, which gave a slight cause for concern in our ranks. A risky move by our coach Lorenzo Micelli was to request a video replay for a possible touch of the ball to the floor in the Thai court, which was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, in this way our opponents dangerously narrowed the lead to 21:19. Bulgaria reached set point at 24:21, managing to close the part on their second attempt – 25:22 and a new tie in sets – 2:2.
The tie-break started with a slight lead for Thailand, who showed skillful and heartfelt play in defense – something completely normal for Asian volleyball teams. Our opponent opened a lead at 4:1, after which our selector Lorenzo Micelli took his first timeout in this short set. The difference remained until the middle of the tie-break – 7:4 for Thailand. An attack error allowed Bulgaria to equalize the score at 7:7, which prompted the Thai coach to stop the game. Thailand again took the lead at 11:8, which forced Lorenzo Micelli to make a double substitution – the second setter Margarita Guncheva and opposite Merelin Nikolova entered the game. This did not yield results, as Thailand dangerously increased their lead at 12:8. This was grounds for the Italian to request his second timeout in the set. Another attack error, this time from the blonde left-hander Nikolova, increased our deficit to 5 points. Thailand got 5 match points at 14:9, and we managed to neutralize the first. The second opportunity was utilized by the Asians, who closed the tie-break and the match at 15:10 – a 2:3 loss for our girls.
And this match can with good reason be called "turbulent", as our team experiences huge playing and emotional amplitudes. This would be justified if this team were just gelling, but our girls have been playing in this formation for three years now. Our coach Lorenzo Micelli has many errors to iron out in our team if we want to see a confident and concentrated face of the women's national volleyball team.
The next match for the "Lionesses" in the Volleyball Nations League is tomorrow, June 14, at 08:30 against Brazil. The match against one of the strongest teams in the volleyball elite will again be broadcast live on Max Sport 2.
