The Bulgarian volleyball players lost their second match of the third and final tournament of the Nations League against the "Squadra Azzurra" team after a good start, but our weak play on serve, reception, and defense deprived us of anything more than a categorical loss. After the middle of the second game, our behavior on the court was more than critical for long periods.
It is necessary to clarify that Italy is playing the tournament in Ljubljana without its main squad, with which it secured its participation in the Olympic Games in Paris. Ferdinando De Giorgi has placed his trust in the younger and less experienced players in the "Squadra Azzurra" team.
The first set started evenly, with our boys first pulling away slightly at 6:3. A good serve and an ace by Simeon Nikolov increased our lead to 4 points at 9:5, which forced Ferdinando De Giorgi to take his first timeout in the set and match. Italy improved its defense, slightly narrowing our lead to three points at 12:9, which was maintained in the following minutes after a constant exchange of points. A good block by the Italians in the center against Iliya Petkov allowed our opponent to close within 2 points at 19:17. Bulgaria's coach, Gianlorenzo Blengini, called for his first timeout in the set after that rally. "Squadra Azzurra" tied the score at 21:21 after several errors in our court. Simeon Nikolov again played as an opposite hitter after Blengini took out the starter in that position, Dimitar Dimitrov, and brought in the second setter, Svetoslav Stankov. Another tie at 22:22 and Blengini called his second timeout. An out by Simeon Nikolov after an attack meant Italy reached set point first in the first set at 24:23. Bulgaria fended off the Italians' opportunities to close the set twice, but in the end, on their third attempt, "Squadra Azzurra" won the set after an attack out by our middle blocker Iliya Petkov - 27:25 and 1:0.
The second set also began with an exchange of points, but after an ace against Georgi Tatarov, Italy first took the lead at 5:3. It was Zhoro who, in turn, scored a direct point from a serve to tie the score again - 6:6. Three consecutive points for "Squadra Azzurra" for 9:6 made Blengini take his first timeout in this set. Our second opposite hitter, Venislav Antov, came into play, thus making his debut with the senior national team. Middle blocker Boris Nachev also entered the court for our team, but Italy increased its lead to 5 points at 13:8. We also took our second timeout for the set after this point. Another ace against Georgi Tatarov opened up a 6-point lead for the Italians - 16:10. Two good blocks by our setter Simeon Nikolov reduced our deficit to 4 points at 18:14. Macerata's new signing, Samuil Valchinov, also came into play. "Squadra Azzurra" regained its 6-point lead at 20:14 and continued to control the set. Denislav Bardarov came in to serve, but made an error. Strong moments for the young Venislav Antov at the end of the set, but he himself made a serving error and Italy got 5 set points at 24:19. Samuil Valchinov also made a serving error and the Italians won the second set convincingly - 25:20 and 2:0 in the overall score.
Italy started the third set more confidently, taking a 4:2 lead after an ace against Asparuh Asparuhov. It should be noted, however, that Simeon Nikolov and Venislav Antov get along wonderfully on the court, as they were teammates in Levski until recently and became champions with the team. Unfortunately, the quality of our serve deteriorated even further, which was of great benefit to Italy, who calmly led the game in this part as well. Gianlorenzo Blengini took a timeout at 10:7 for the opponent, after which Italy scored another point from a serve after another ace against Asparuh Asparuhov. Samuil Valchinov replaced him, but also allowed a direct point to be scored against him from a serve - 13:9. Our poor play continued in the following minutes. Svetoslav Stankov and Denis Karyagin appeared on the court at a startling 7-point difference - 16:9 for Italy. Denis Karyagin cleverly dropped the ball into the Italian block and we slightly reduced our deficit - 16:12. Ferdinando De Giorgi took a timeout for Italy. Poor reception and another large lead for "Squadra Azzurra" - 18:12. Our opponents again played more than confidently and calmly, fully controlling what was happening on the court. Italy reached 5 match points at 24:19, but the first was fended off after an opponent's error. Clever play at the net by Samuil Valchinov allowed Bulgaria to save the second opportunity to close the match - 24:21. Italy won the third set and the match itself 3:0 on their third match point - 25:21.
In this way, "Squadra Azzurra," despite playing with its young players, showed a very calm and correct game, which brought them a deserved success over our main squad.
Our next match in the Nations League is tomorrow, again at 5:30 PM, against the Cuban team, which is fighting for qualification for the Olympics, as they have real chances. You will be able to watch the match live again on Max Sport.
