Ningbo, China, May 27 - Nikolay Uchikov made the evening his own with 26 points and Bulgaria moved to 2-1 overall after dispensing with Argentina 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-22) in first-round men's action at the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
The towering wing spiker was a human highlight reel with 25 of his tally coming from killer spikes, along with a huge block, as his team rebounded from a sluggish start to proceedings. Fellow wing spiker Valentin Brateov played side kick to the superhero this time around, chipping in with 15 and rallying the Bulgarian forces.
It was another disappointing outing for the Argentinians who have labored hard across this first round in China but have little to show for their efforts. Opposite spiker Bruno Lima led the way for the South Americans and was the source of most resistance with 12 points in total.
Argentina's coach Julio Velasco had decided beforehand to tinker with his rotation, resting both middle blocker Pablo Crer and wing spiker Ezequiel Palacios for the whole match. The pair had played prominent roles in their team's 3-2 defeat to the USA but were among those who failed to deliver in Saturday's upset 3-0 loss to China.
The South Americans were quite obviously also emboldened by the fact they had won four of their last five clashes with Bulgaria - and three of the last three - as they came out well on top in the first set, with wing spiker Lisandro Zanotti impressing early, before finishing the match with 12 points that included five blocks.
The past seven times these two teams have met whomever won the first set went on to victory but that was a run that ended on Sunday night as Argentina brushed off the first-set disappointment and turned on the power throughout the rest of the clash.
While Uchikov did the lion's share of the work at the net - and reaped the rewards - it was the yellow-haired middle blocker Svetoslav Gotsev who was the team's emotional heart, switching to airplane mode as he wheeled around the court with every point he scored.
The world 14th-ranked Bulgarians now head home to the second round in Sofia on 2-1 with only a loss to the second-ranked Americans on their scorecard while seventh-ranked Argentina will want to consign this soiree to the past. They now head home to San Juan 0-3.