Bulgaria's World Vice-Champions Secure Impressive Second Win in 2026

Volleyball players from Bulgaria's national team recorded an impressive second victory at the friendly tournament "Śląskie Cup" in Poland. The team, led by coach Gianlorenzo Blengini, staged a remarkable comeback from 0:2 to a final 3:2 (24:26, 21:25, 25:20, 25:19, 15:12) against Serbia in their second match of the tournament, played this evening in the Spodek Arena in Katowice.

Blengini selects 30 for the Nations League

Gianlorenzo Blengini started with Stoyil Pavel, Venislav Antov, Martin Atanasov, Georgi Tataryov, Iliya Petkov, Preslav Petkov, libero Damian Kolev, and Dimitar Dobrev.

In the first game, Serbia led 4:2 after an attack and block by Nemanja Maksimovic, but Bulgaria quickly equalized at 4:4 with an attack by Georgi Tataryov and a counterattack by Martin Atanasov. Serbia pulled ahead again at 8:6 after a successful attack by Lazar Marinkovic and a mistake by Tataryov. The lead slightly increased to 12:9 after a counter-block by Marinkovic, and then to 16:12 after a superb save by Vuk Kulpinac. "The Lions" immediately narrowed the gap to 15:16 after a series of strong serves by Atanasov and an attack by Venislav Antov. The world vice-champions reached a new tie at 18:18 after a strong attack and a great block by Tataryov, then even took the lead at 19:18 after a quick counterattack through the center by Iliya Petkov. The two teams remained evenly matched until 22:22, followed by a great block by Preslav Petkov for 23:22. An attack error by Antov and a block by Aleksandar Shosa made the score 24:23 for Serbia. A block-out by Antov and 24:24. In the end, the players of George Kreca took the game 26:24 after a block-out by Lazar Marinkovic and a counterattack by Jarco Ubiparip.

Bulgaria pulled ahead at the start of the second game at 5:2 after mistakes by Aleksandar Stefanovic and Aleksandar Shosa from Serbia and a counter-block by Iliya Petkov. Serbia managed to tie at 6:6 after a mistake by Georgi Tataryov and a strong counterattack by Shosa. This was followed by a ace by Jarco Ubiparip for 7:6, after which Gianlorenzo Blengini took a timeout for Bulgaria. Despite this, a great block by Lazar Marinkovic for 8:6 followed. The lead then increased to 10:7 after a counter-block by Shosa. The lead of Serbia's "representation" grew to 12:8 after a block by Aleksandar Stefanovic, then to 15:10 after another successful counterattack by Shosa. Serbia's lead continued to grow to 18:11. Meanwhile, Boris Nachev, Denislav Bardarov, Dimitar Dimitrov, and Luboslav Telkiski joined the game for Bulgaria. Serbia maintained their lead at 21:14 after an attack by Ubiparip. Bulgaria narrowed the gap to 20:23 after strong saves by Denislav Bardarov and Martin Atanasov, but Serbia still closed the game in their favor at 25:21 after a center attack by Nemanja Maksimovic.

The Comeback Continues

The third game again started with an advantage for Bulgaria - 5:2 after a pipe attack by Martin Atanasov followed by successful counters by Denislav Bardarov and Dimitar Dimitrov. The lead became 8:4 after a great block by Atanasov. Bulgaria's lead increased to 11:6 after an error by Jarco Ubiparip, which prompted Serbia coach George Kreca to call a timeout. Despite this, Bulgaria's lead became 14:8 after another pipe attack by Atanasov. The world vice-champions continued to lead at 19:13 after new strong attacks by Atanasov and an error by Dushan Nikolic. Despite Serbia's efforts, Bulgaria maintained their lead at 22:17 after another pipe by Atanasov, then won the game 25:20 after a block by Dimitar Dimitrov, narrowing the deficit to 1:2.

The fourth game started with a great block by Denislav Bardarov and a strong ace by Iliya Petkov for 2:0 for Bulgaria. Gradually, Serbia tied at 5:5 after a block by Aleksandar Stefanovic and an ace by Jarco Ubipa...