Bulgaria's Volleyball Team Set for VNL 2026

Selctioner Gianlorenzo Blengini has chosen the 30 players who will represent Bulgaria in this year's Volleyball Nations League (VNL). The team, nicknamed "The Lions," will start their VNL campaign on June 10 against Belgium in Brazil, where they will also face Iran, Argentina, and Serbia.

Tournament Schedule

The second week of the tournament will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from June 24 to June 28, where Bulgaria will face Italy, Slovenia, Canada, and Ukraine. The third week will see the team travel to Chicago to play against Poland, China, the United States, and France.

Pre-Tournament Preparation

Before the VNL begins, the Bulgarian team will participate in the Silesia Cup friendly tournament. They will then return to Samokov on June 26 to resume training. The final preparatory match will be against Argentina on June 6 in Rosario.

The extended squad for VNL 2026 includes:

  • Setters: Simen Nikolov, Luboslav Telkyski, Stoil Palev, Victor Zhekov, Anton Stanchev
  • Diagonals: Dimitar Dimitrov, Hristiyon Dimitrov, Venislav Antonov, Dimitar Peychinov
  • Receivers: Martin Atanasov, Jasmin Velikov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Vladimir Garkov, Denis Karyakin, Georgi Tatarov, Rusi Zhelev, Denislav Bardarov, Aleksandar Nikolov, Kristiyon Alexov
  • Central Blockers: Ilia Petrov, Boris Nachev, Preslav Petrov, Aleks Grzdanov, Ivaylo Damyanov, Kiril Kolev, Lazar Buchkov
  • Liberos: Dimitar Dobrev, Damyan Kolev, Yassen Petrov, Kaloyan Botev

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