Inspired by the excellent performances of the Nikolov brothers – Aleksandar and Simeon – Bulgaria showed great teamwork on the court on the way to a well-deserved success. Their 53-43 advantage in spike kills and 10-6 advantage in kill blocks made the difference in the match. 21-year-old outside hitter Aleks Nikolov was by far the best scorer of the match with 27 points, including two blocks and an ace. In addition to showing his magic touch in play-making, his younger brother, 18-year-old setter Moni, fired two aces and registered an impressive 88% success rate in attack to contribute nine points the victory. Outside Martin Atanasov reached the double digits with 11 points, including two blocks.
“I don’t think it could have been any better. A 3-0 win against a contender for advancing beyond pool, is great. We are super happy, but we’ve accomplished nothing yet. Now we need to focus on resting and coming out against the very good team of Slovenia the day after tomorrow,” Alex Nikolov told VBTV. “Our unity is incredibly important and it is something that we’ve been working on during the season. For four months we have been secluded in a mountain place. When we go out, we go out together. When we laugh, we laugh together, so everything is part of the process. And obviously we are all the same age, so it’s even better.”
Overall, Germany managed to produce two aces more than the opponents (6-4) and made two mistakes fewer (23-25). They were led by their charismatic 40-year-old opposite and captain Gyorgy Grozer with 13 points, including three aces and three blocks. The central Europeans had a solid showing in first-tempo attacks, with both middle blockers registering high success rates and reaching the double digits. Anton Brehme finished with 11 points, while Tobias Krick signed off with 10.
