The Bulgarian national volleyball team for men under 19 qualified for the quarterfinals of the World Championship in Tashkent after an extremely dramatic victory over the USA with 3:2 (25:22, 25:23, 20:25, 14:25, 16:14), BTA reported.
The team, led by Miroslav Zhivkov, led the game with 2:0, but allowed a complete turnaround, as in the tiebreak the Americans missed three consecutive match points, but Bulgaria realized the last five points of the match.
Bulgaria started with: Ivan Uzunov, Martin Totkov, Nikola Konstantinov, Deyan Marinov, Nikolay Nikolaev, Jasmin Velichkov and libero Daniel Tiholov
The first point for Bulgaria came after an attack by Nikola Konstantinov, and the first advance with a difference for Miroslav Zhivkov's team came to 3:1 after an attack in the Americans' out. The opponent led for the first time at 9:8. In the middle of the first half, Konstantinov was injured for the Bulgarian team and was replaced by Konstantin Manolev. Bulgaria again opened a gap at 16:13 after a block by Marinov, which led to a break for the Americans. The US team reduced the gap at 18:17 and forced Zhivkov to call a timeout. The home team again led by three points - 20:17, with a successful block by Totkov. Bulgaria reached four game balls after a ball released by the distributor Uzunov, but missed the first two. Jasmin Velichkov closed the first half with 25:22 with an attack on the block and out, and he was also the most productive for the team with five points.
The second game started evenly, with Bulgaria leading 6:4 and 12:9, which made the opponent call a break. The Americans tied the score at 16:16. The Bulgarian team reached 24:22 after a successful block. The team also won the second set at 25:23 after a blunder by the Americans.
In the third game, the US team led 9:4. Zhivkov's team started to play more concentrated and reduced the gap to 10:11. Bulgaria fell behind by 17:23, and Zhivkov put some of the reserves on the court - Dimitar Peychinov and Filip Marinski - to give some rest to the main players for the fourth set. The Americans reduced the gap at 25:20.
In the fourth game, Bulgaria led 7:5 after a block in the center, but the opponent scored three consecutive points. The US lead grew to 11:8, which led to a break for Miroslav Zhivkov. At 8:16, the prospect of playing a tiebreak began to emerge. At 9:17, our captain Velichkov got injured and was temporarily replaced. The second setter Petko Petkov also appeared in the game due to the mistakes of the starter Ivan Uzunov. In the end, Bulgaria scored three consecutive points, but the USA won convincingly with 25:14.
The first point in the tiebreak was for the Americans after a block, but the home team scored the next two points. The Americans made another turn at 4:3. The opponent took an advantage at 7:5 after a block against Velichkov, which made Zhivkov request a timeout. Bulgaria tied after a block by Nikolay Nikolaev. At 7:9, another timeout followed for the Bulgarian coach. The USA had three match points at 14:11, but Zhivkov's team tied for 14:14 after a strong block play. The Bulgarians took the lead with 15:14, after an attack in the out and finished the match after 16:14 after a block by Velichkov.
The Americans had an advantage in attack 59:54 and made fewer mistakes than Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian team was better in blocking - 19:16.
Jasmin Velichkov was also the most productive for Bulgaria with 22 points, Grant Lamurio scored the most in the match from the Americans - 28.
Thus, in the quarterfinals of the tournament, Bulgaria will face the team of Spain, which prevailed over Argentina 3:0 earlier in the day. The Spaniards finished second in their Group "C", losing only to the leader Italy with 1:3.
/ХБ/
Source: www.bta.bg