Story thread · 3 reports / 1 sources

Bulgaria Loses 1-3 to Ukraine at European Volleyball Championship

bta.bg · 2dShare

Bulgaria lost 1-3 to Ukraine in their third match at the Men’s European Volleyball Championship at Arena 8888 in Sofia on Saturday. It was the first defeat for Gianlorenzo Blengini’s team after wins over North Macedonia and Portugal. The loss will likely end Bulgaria’s hopes of challenging for top spot in Pool B. Bulgaria started with the familiar lineup of Simeon Nikolov, Aleksandar Nikolov, Aleks Grozdanov, Iliya Petkov, Martin Atanasov, Denislаv Bardarov and libero Zhasmin Velichkov. Ukraine won the first two sets 25–23 and 25–22. Bulgaria responded by taking the third set 25–21, but Ukraine regained control in the fourth to win 25–21 and seal the match. Aleksandar Nikolov was once again Bulgaria’s top scorer with 27 points, while Simeon Nikolov and Asparuh Asparuhov added nine each. For Ukraine, Oleh Plotnytskyi led the way with 23 points. Bulgaria’s next match is against Israel on Monday at 7 p.m.

First report: Bulgaria Beat Portugal 3-0 for Second Straight Win at Men's European Volleyball Championship — bta.bg, 3d