Bulgaria earned a victory over hosts Korea in their first Pool 5 match in Suwon on Tuesday. It was their second win since the start of Volleyball Nations League 2023, enough to overtake another challenger team, Croatia, in the current standings and get back to safety from relegation for now. Bulgaria, with eight points, and Croatia, with six, are placed 14th and 15th, respectively, in the table on a 2-7 win-loss record each. For 16th-placed Korea, who as a core team are not threatened by relegation, it was the second set they managed to win in nine matches since the start of the tournament.
VNL 2023
Bulgaria back to safety... for now
The southern Europeans beat Korea to take their second win in VNL 2023
Published 01:09, 27 Jun 2023
Maria Yordanova in attack
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Bulgaria completely outblocked Korea with 13 stuffs against four. Seven of those were authored by middle blocker Mira Todorova towards her match total of 16 points. Opposite Radostina Marinova led the team with 19 points. Outside hitter Maria Yordanova added another 18, including three aces. Korea’s most prolific player Kim Daeun also finished with 19 points.
Inspired by the home fans and led by Kim Daeun, Korea took control early into the first set and opened a three-point gap. Bulgaria caught up at 8-8 and an even battle unfolded until 22-21 Korea’s way. At that moment, the European team went on a four-point run, crowned by outside Elena Becheva’s block-out shot for 25-22. The second set offered a very competitive duel, with the lead changing hands several times until 17-17, after which the Bulgarians broke away with six points in a row on Maria Yordanova’s turn to serve. Shortly after, Radostina Marinova’s swing finished the set off at 25-18.
Korea’s serving is what made the difference in an otherwise very tight third set. Again, the lead went back and forth several times during the set. Setter Kim Dain produced three aces for the home team. On one of her serving turns, the Koreans scored six points in a row to open a 14-10 lead. With Mira Todorova owning the net in both offence and blocking, the Europeans recovered, kept pace and reached match point at 24-23, only to allow three in a row by Korea, with an ace by Pyo Seungju in the middle, and lose the set. Riding the momentum, Korea started the fourth set with a 2-0 lead, but it was the last one they had in the game. Spearheaded by Yordanova and Marinova, Bulgaria stepped in front and never let go. After 18-15, they went on a seven-point spree, with sub-in middle Mariya Krivoshiyska serving and it was Yordanova’s kill that stopped the clocks at 25-15.
Libero Mila Pashkuleva and her Bulgarian teammates celebrate
“This win as really important because the game was one of the deciders if we are going to stay in the VNL, which has been our goal since the beginning, and I am really happy that we actually managed to achieve this victory,” said Mira Todorova after the game. “We fought a lot. For me the most important was that we never gave up after the third set. We never lost our spirit and that helped us. Both teams played great defence and it was really hard to put the ball on the floor.”
In their next matches on Thursday, Bulgaria will take on Olympic champions United States at 15:30 local time (06:30 UTC) and Korea will face the Dominican Republic at 19:00 (10:00).
Pool 5 action in Suwon started earlier on Tuesday with Germany’s win over the Dominicans. The Germans improved to a 7-2 win-loss record and 19 points in third place, while the Caribbean Queens stand 11th on 3-6 and seven. Hanna Orthmann and Lena Stigrot were the winners’ leading scorers on 20 and 19 points, respectively, while Brayelin Martinez topped the chart with 21 for Dominican Republic.
Tuesday’s competition day will finish with a Pool 6 game between the Netherlands and hosts Thailand in Bangkok, starting at 20:30 local time (13:30 UTC).
