The Bulgarian women's volleyball champion Maritsa (Plovdiv) achieved their first victory in the group stage of the Champions League this season! Maritsa defeated Croatian team Mladost (Zagreb) with3:1 (25:17, 18:25, 25:22, 25:19) setsin the Dom Odbojke Bojan Stranic hall in Zagreb.
The match started excellently for Maritsa, who took a 7:4 lead, prompting the home team's coach to call their first timeout. The score reached 17:14, and after a successful attack by Kaya Nikolova, the champions closed the set with 25:17. The beginning of the second set was also great, with the Bulgarian champion building a 4-point lead at 7:3. At 15:12, the hosts managed to equalize and went on a run of 5 consecutive points – 22:17, and after 25:18, they took the set and leveled the score.
In the third set, Ahmetcan Erşimşek's girls took an 8:4 lead and did not relinquish the initiative until the end. The set concluded after a block by Borislava Saykova for 25:22.
The fourth set started excellently for the Yellow-Blues, who took a 5:1 lead. Maritsa increased their advantage to 18:11, and after a successful attack by Iva Dudova, Maritsa closed the set and the match with 25:19.
For Maritsa, Iva Dudova was the top scorer with 22 points, Dobrina Hristoskova added 15, and Borislava Saykova distinguished herself with 13 points.

For the guests, Simona Petronović finished with the most points - 18 and was chosen as MVP of the match.
Thus, Maritsa recorded their first victory this season in the Champions League and gained an advantage in the battle for third place against Mladost. The third position grants participation in the CEV Cup tournament.