Bulgarian volleyball nationals started the third and final tournament of this year's Nations League in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana with improved and refined play, which was key to securing a 3:1 set victory over our southeastern neighbors Turkey, earning three points for the League standings.
Bulgaria began the matches in Ljubljana with a changed squad compared to what we saw in the previous two League tournaments in Antalya and Fukuoka. Nevertheless, coach Gianlorenzo Blengini logically fielded the familiar starting seven for today's match: Simeon Nikolov, Dimitar Dimitrov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Georgi Tatarov, Iliya Petkov, Alex Grozdanov, and libero Martin Bozhilov.
The first set started better for the "lions," as we led the score several times. After 9:9, however, the Turks pulled ahead in the set, their lead reaching 5 points at 15:10, and after the opponent's 13th point, our coach Gianlorenzo Blengini called a timeout. Shortly after, Turkey's starting setter - Murat Yenipazar - suffered an injury, with his place on the court taken by the team's second playmaker Arda Bostan. The absence of the big star Adis Lagumdzija from the opponent's starting lineup is also noteworthy. Bulgaria took advantage of the difficulties in the Turkish court, reducing the score difference after good play from our strongest elements - serve, attack, and block. We tied the points at 17:17, but Turkey continued to lead by a point, which forced our Italian coach to request his second timeout in the set. The Turkish national team was the first to reach set point at 24:22, but our "lions" wonderfully managed to eliminate both opportunities for the opponent to close the set - with a nice attack and a subsequent ace by our opposite Dimitar Dimitrov. This forced Turkish coach Cédric Énard to call a timeout, after which Bulgaria saved Turkey's third set point with another beautiful attack, courtesy of Mitko Dimitrov - 25:25. The left-hander finished the next rally again, thus giving us our own set point, our first in the set. The set was closed magnificently by Georgi Tatarov, who spiked the ball to the floor in Turkey's court with another ace - 27:25 and 1:0 for Bulgaria.
The second set began as the first one ended – with our dominance. We led 6:5, opening a comfortable 3-point lead at 9:6 after new great performances by Dimitar Dimitrov and an ace by Simeon Nikolov. Cédric Énard called a timeout for his team, but Bulgarian dominance on the court continued with more good attacks by Asparuh Asparuhov and, of course, Dimitar Dimitrov. Thanks to our good play in this set as well, we led by 5 points at 14:9. Turkey reduced the score to 14:18, and Blengini called a timeout at that moment. Bulgaria got 5 opportunities to close this set at 24:19 after an attack by our captain Alex Grozdanov. The Turks saved the first set point, but on the second, a block by our middle blocker Grozdanov ended the dispute in this part – 25:20 and 2:0 for our boys.
An inexplicable slump in our ranks at the start of the third set allowed Turkey to take the initiative and lead 4:1. Our Italian coach called a timeout, but our southeastern neighbors continued to multiply their lead, aided by the entry into play of their biggest star – Adis Lagumdzija. Logically, considering the play in this third set, Turkey led by an impressive 8 points at 15:7. Alex Grozdanov finished a nice combination with the second setter, Svetoslav Stankov, who came in, to make the score 11:18, but the set was definitely being played out, it was only a matter of time before the Turkish volleyball players would win it and get back into the match. At 21:12 for our opponents, young talent Denislav Bardarov made his debut for Bulgaria. Another of our substitutions – Denis Karyagin – attacked out, giving Turkey 12 set points at 24:12, and our southeastern neighbors took advantage instantly and deservedly won the third set on their very first opportunity – 25:12, and now only a 2:1 set lead for the "lions."
The fourth set started evenly, as Bulgaria shook off the nightmarish third set. The tie in points remained almost until the middle of the set, with our boys being the first to pull ahead by 2 points to 12:10. However, Turkey managed to equalize and in turn take the lead after 16:15. Gianlorenzo Blengini called a timeout for our team. The game continued to be point-for-point until 19:19, but then the Turks scored two consecutive points, taking the lead at 21:19. Immediately after this point, our Italian coach took his second timeout in the set. This had an effect, as the "lions" equalized the score to 21:21. Cédric Énard also called a timeout for Turkey, but Bulgaria played fantastically and won the next points in the set convincingly, earning three match points at 24:21. The first was saved after a good attack by our opponent, but on the second, Svetoslav Stankov set a ball in the center for our captain Alex Grozdanov, who ended this match - 25:22 and a 3:1 victory for Bulgaria.
Dimitar Dimitrov, who played a strong match, finished with the most points for our team - 15. Asparuh Asparuhov recorded 13, captain Alex Grozdanov - 12, Georgi Tatarov and Iliya Petkov each contributed 8, and Simeon Nikolov scored 4. Substitute Samuil Valchinov also contributed a point.
Our next match in the League in Ljubljana is on June 20, again at 17:30, against the reigning world champion Italy. The "Squadra Azzurra" has already qualified for the Paris Olympics thanks to their victories in the tournament so far, which have propelled them up the world rankings. This has allowed their coach Ferdinando De Giorgi to rest his starting players, so that younger and less experienced volleyball players can now get a chance to play. This is a good prerequisite for our team to achieve a victory in the next match, which you can watch live again on Max Sport 1.
