Champion Levski prevailed over CSKA 3:0 (25:19, 25:19, 25:14) in the opening match of the new men's volleyball championship, BTA reported.
This happened six days after the semi-final for the Bulgarian Super Cup, in which the "blue" again they achieved a clear victory. This was Levski's ninth consecutive success in the derby with CSKA in recent years.
In the first game, the match started evenly, with both teams going point for point, before Levski broke away for the first time with 8:5 after a successful block by captain Svetoslav Gotsev.
Levski started with a lineup: Stoil Palev, Svetoslav Gotsev, Venislav Antov, Vladimir Garkov, Julius Firkal and Livan Osoria with libero Damian Kolev. For the "red" started Strahinya Burzakovich, Nikolay Penchev, Hristiyan Velikov, Vladimir Stankov, Todor Kostov, Stefan Chavdarov with libero Martin Bozhilov
The detachment of the "blue" continued and at 12:7 CSKA coach Alexander Popov was forced to take a timeout. However, it did not produce a result, because after it Levski scored a point after an attack on the block and an out of Vladimir Gharkov.
Gotsev continued his strong performances by making another successful block in 19:13, and at 20:13 Popov took a second break for the part. After him the "red" scored two points in a row, which forced Nikolay Zhelyazkov to use a timeout to set the pace of the game. Slovakian Julius Firkal scored an ace for the "blues" for 22:15. Strahinya Burzakovic also scored an ace for CSKA from a service, but then shot out.
At 24:17, CSKA scored two points in a row, but then Velikov shot into the net from a serve, with which Levski won the first part.
Gerkov and Firkal finished the first game with 5 points each.
The second game also started with an exchange of points, but Levski again managed to break away with 7:4 with another block by Gotsev and Alexander Popov used his first break in the set. The game was almost similar to the first one, with Zhelyazkov's team leading with 22:15 and only at the end the "red" mobilized and made some points. The part ended again with a shot into the net from a serve by Hristian Velikov from CSKA and a new 19:25.
In the third part, Levski took the lead at 9:7 after a successful attack by Firkal and Antov. After the ace of the captain of the "blues" Gotsev for 11:8, Alexander Popov uses an interruption. The coach of the "reds" constantly made changes in search of the optimal composition and tried to disrupt the game that was going in favor of the opponent. Levski, however, again reached a serious difference after 15:8 and the blockade of Osoria.
"The Blues" continued to dominate, and at the end of the match, 17-year-old Dimitar Peychinov, who is 213 cm tall, made his debut for the champions. He also scored the winning point for the team in 25:14.
Levski's captain was chosen as the most valuable player in the match, scoring 15 points. His teammate Venislav Antov also finished with that much.
"The team showed us extreme seriousness and professionalism. After winning a cup, a team is mentally worn out. We showed professionalism. The meeting went without appeal. We showed a very good game in the center. We played very well in blocking. In general, we played a very strong match", Levski coach Nikolay Zhelyazkov
was satisfied
"The attitude of the players and the level of preparation is good for this phase. Sometimes we make slight mistakes. We should not exclude the youth either. The team is well prepared for the moment. I cannot say what awaits us in Europe. We are looking forward to these matches.
A young competitor should have experienced volleyball players to look up to. The attitude towards the training process and the matches is important. We have competitors who are at an exceptional level as professionals. The experienced ones help a lot in the growth of the team.", concluded Zhelyazkov.