site.btaBulgaria Defeat China, Keep Volleyball Nations League Finals Hopes Alive

Bulgaria's men's national volleyball team defeated China 3-1 (22:25, 25:14, 25:20, 25:20) in their second match of the third week of the Volleyball Nations League in Chicago, USA.                  

The victory was the sixth of the tournament for the team coached by Gianlorenzo Blengini and kept Bulgaria's hopes alive of qualifying for the Finals in Ningbo, China.

Bulgaria's next match will be against the host nation, the United States, on July 19 at 4 am Bulgarian time.

Blengini made one change to the starting lineup compared with the opening match against Poland, with Denislav Bardarov replacing Martin Atanasov in the starting six.

Bulgaria recorded its sixth victory of the Volleyball Nations League campaign and remains in contention for a place among the top eight teams, which will qualify for the Finals in Ningbo.

The Bulgarian team now has a record of six wins, four losses, and 17 points, placing it eighth in the provisional standings.

Bulgaria impressed with its serving, recording 11 aces despite committing 18 service errors.

Aleksandar Nikolov was the team's top scorer with 28 points, finishing with a 64% attack success rate, four aces, and one block. Denislav Bardarov added 15 points, posting a 62% success rate in attack.