Bulgaria turned around China and kept its chances for the Nations League finals

The volleyball players from the Bulgarian national team achieved their sixth victory since the beginning of this year's Nations League, prevailing with difficulty but deservedly over China with "3:1 (22:25, 25:14, 25:20, 25:20)". The match was the second for the "Lions" in the Group 8 tournament in the final third week of the main phase and was played last night in front of about 1,000 spectators at the "NOW Arena" hall in Chicago (USA).

After the success, Bulgaria occupies "8th place" in the overall provisional standings of the main phase with "6 wins, 4 losses and 17 points" and remains in the battle for a spot at the Nations League final tournament in Ningbo (China). The China team, which is hosting the finals, remains at the last "18th position" with only "1 win, 10 losses and 4 points" to their name.

Tomorrow, "July 19", Bulgaria will face the hosts from the USA, who are already guaranteed participants in the finals. The match is scheduled for "04:00 Bulgarian time" during the night, and to keep their qualification chances alive, the "Lions" will again have to look for the victory. China will play its last match of the tournament against Brazil also tomorrow, but in the evening at "20:00".

The match started better for China. At the beginning of the first set, the Asian team took a "2:0" lead after a counterattack by Lei Li, and a little later they were already leading "4:1" after an attack error by Asparuh Asparuhov. The Bulgarians managed to reduce the gap to "5:6" after an attack by Asparuhov and a counterattack by Aleksandar Nikolov, but China pulled away again to "8:5" after an attack by Zhehua Wen and an ace by Yongzhen Li. The game went point for point until "11:8", after which a block by Zhehua Wen made the score "12:8". The Chinese lead grew to "15:10" after an ace by Lei Li, which forced head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini to call the first timeout for Bulgaria.

After the break followed an attack through the center by Iliya Petkov, a bomb ace by Simeon Nikolov and a back-row counterattack by Alex Nikolov – "15:13" and a timeout for China's mentor Vital Heynen. Despite the efforts of the Bulgarians, the Chinese kept their advantage until "20:17" after an ace by Shikun Peng. The score became "22:18" after a counterattack by setter Hebin Wang. The world runners-up reduced to "22:20" after an excellent block by Denislav Bardarov and an error by Hebin Wang, but China still closed the set with "25:22" after a strong attack by Bin Wang.

The second part started much better for Bulgaria. The "Lions" pulled ahead with "4:1" after two consecutive powerful aces by Alex Nikolov. Despite the timeout requested by Vital Heynen, Nikolov recorded two more direct points from the serve and the score swelled to "6:1". The gap remained at "8:3" after a successful attack by Iliya Petkov and increased to "10:4" after a counterattack from the center. The Bulgarians held their serious lead until "14:8" after another ace by Alex Nikolov, and then the lead became "16:10" after a "drop" type ace by Alex Grozdanov.

The score reached "19:11" after a strong attack by Alex Nikolov, and then "22:12" after a back-row counterattack by Denislav Bardarov and an ace by Iliya Petkov. In the end, Bulgaria calmly closed the set at "25:14" after a successful attack by Asparuh Asparuhov and equalized the score to "1:1".

The third set also started strongly for Bulgaria. We took a "3:1" lead after a block-out by Asparuh Asparuhov and an excellent block by Simeon Nikolov. The lead grew to "6:3" after a powerful counterattack by Denislav Bardarov, after which Vital Heynen took a timeout. Gradually, the Chinese managed to equalize at "7:7" after an error by Alex Nikolov and a counterattack by Zhehua Wen, and then even took a lead of "9:7" after a counterattack by Lei Li and another inaccuracy by Nikolov.

Despite the timeout for Gianlorenzo Blengini, the score became "11:8" after an ace by Hebin Wang. However, Bulgaria managed to turn it around to "11:11" and take the lead with "12:11" after three excellent plays by Alex Nikolov and an error by Zhehua Wen. A strong ace by Asparuh Asparuhov followed for "13:11". The game again went point for point until "16:14" after another great block by Iliya Petkov, and a bomb ace by Moni Nikolov made the score "17:14".

The lead increased to "19:15" after an ace by the substitute Jasmin Velichkov. The Bulgarians held their advantage until "23:19" after another block by Moni Nikolov and a counterattack by Alex Nikolov, and the set was won with "25:20" after another strong counterattack by Moni Nikolov.

Bulgaria also started the fourth part well, taking a "3:1" lead after an attack by Asparuh Asparuhov and an error by Shikun Peng. China equalized at "4:4" after an error by our team at the net and a counter block-out by Zhehua Wen, and then took a lead of "7:5" after a block by Yongzhen Li and a counterattack by Yuan Ti Yu. This forced Gianlorenzo Blengini to call for a timeout.

The game remained balanced until "12:10", after which the "Lions" equalized for "12:12" after a powerful counterattack and a bomb ace by Moni Nikolov. Bulgaria even took the lead with "14:12" after an error by Yuan Ti Yu and a block by the substitute Preslav Petkov. A counterattack and a block by Denislav Bardarov followed, and the score swelled to "16:12".

Our team held their advantage until "21:16" after two consecutive successful attacks by Alex Nikolov. Gianlorenzo Blengini's players controlled the events until the end and closed the set with "25:20" after another attack by Alex Nikolov, and with that they also won the match with "3:1".

Above all in the Bulgarian squad was "Aleksandar Nikolov", who finished with "28 points" (1 block and 4 aces) and was the main engine of the turnaround against China. "Asparuh Asparuhov" (1 block and 1 ace) and "Denislav Bardarov" (2 blocks) added "15 points" each for the success.

For the Chinese team, "Zhehua Wen" (1 block) and "Lei Li" (1 block and 1 ace) scored "13" and "12 points" respectively.