CSKA's women's team started their first European tournament match with a heavy loss. Yulia Ivatova's girls lost as guests to Panathinaikos with a score of 0:3 (7:25, 16:25, 16:25) in just over an hour in front of 200 spectators in the capital Athens.
The team started with the following lineup: Iveta Stanchulova, Nikol Okoro, Nikol Peychinova, Alexandra Saykova, Dimana Ivanova, and Alexandra Kostadinova. Raya Evlogieva also came in briefly in the third set.
The superiority of the Greek team in the first game was significant, as they took a 5:1 lead and then scored 12 consecutive points, reaching a 23:6 advantage. The Sofia team scored only one more point until the end of the set, and the first part concluded with a successful attack by Manolina Constantinou for 25:7.
In the second set, CSKA managed to take a 3:1 lead, and then an 8:4 lead. Our team's strength lasted until 13:11, after which Panathinaikos scored seven consecutive points. The hosts continued their pressure, again going on a run of 4 more points, to close the second game with 25:16.
Right at the beginning of the third set, the hosts managed to take a comfortable 8-point lead, which provided peace of mind for Panathinaikos, who closed the set with the same score as in the second set - 25:16. Eirini Chatziefstratiadou scored the last point of the set and the match.
The Russian Bogomila Biarda from Panathinaikos finished with the most points - 13.
For CSKA, Iveta Stanchulova was the most effective scorer with 11 points, followed by Alex Saykova with 6.

The hosts scored 7 points from serves against one by Dimana Ivanova. Panathinaikos also added 8 points from blocks against 5 for our team. The hosts also outplayed us in attack percentage, 55 against 27 for the "reds".
The return match of the Challenge Cup tournament is on October 16th at 6 PM Bulgarian time.

photos: CEV