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Bulgaria’s national under-18 volleyball team won their group at the European Championships in Italy. Martin Stoev’s boys lied and beat the hosts of Italy with 3: 2 (16:25, 25:13, 26:24, 21:25, 15:11) in their last third match of Group I of the tournament, played tonight in Marzikovetere.
Thus, the young “lions” became group winners with 3 wins from 3 matches and 8 points. “Squadra Azzura” was second with 6 points after 2 wins and 1 loss. Both teams had secured their first place in the Eurovolley 2020 semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, Bulgaria will play the Czech Republic, which finished second in the other Group II. Italy will argue with Poland, who won Group II. The meetings are on Saturday (September 12) from 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Bulgarian time, respectively.
In the first game, the Bulgarian boys stiffly entered the match and could not meet. The hosts of Italy completely dominated and won it with a convincing 25:16. In the second half, the roles were swapped, as the game was entirely under the dictates of the selection of Martin Stoev, who parted ways early from “Squadra Azzurri” and tied the games after the devastating 25:13.
The third game was quite dramatic, with Italy leading most of the time. The difference was five points at 18:13, after which the young “lions” reduced the distance. At 22:19, in the service of Bulgaria was Georgi Tatarov, who became the hero of the game. The good performance of the diagonal continued in the following minutes, as after their streak and two blocks for Bulgaria the advantage melted only by one point. Subsequently, the score was tied at 22:22. Tatarov’s ace overtook the Bulgarians – 23:22. Italy, however, did not give up and tied at 24:24. In the decisive minutes, the Bulgarian boys showed more will and psyche. A successful attack by Alexander Nikolov gave a 25:24 lead, and an attack on the outside of Italy led to 26:24 for Bulgaria.
The fourth part also started, after which the young “azzuri” mobilized. Vincenzo Fanidza’s players “got the Bulgarians up” and allowed almost no resistance. The two teams were close, but in the end Italy won the match with 25:21 and scored the match in a tiebreaker. There the point-to-point game began, after which the Bulgarian boys took the lead. The hosts caught up with the “lions” again, reaching a draw at 9: 9. After that, a successful attack by Alexander Nikolov and a block for the Bulgarian team gave a two-point lead -11: 9. In the end, everything went well, as a blockade by the “lions” ended the match – 15:11 and 3: 2 for Bulgaria.
The most useful for the Bulgarian team were Georgi Tatarov (3 aces and 40% efficiency in attack) and Alexander Nikolov (3 blocks, 1 ace, 40% efficiency in attack and 59% positive reception) with 19 and 18 points for the victory. For the young Azzurri, Ranieri Truocho (43% efficiency in attack) and Luca Poro (1 block, 33% efficiency in attack and 82% positive reception) scored 17 and 15 points, but not even that was enough for success .
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