The Olympic and world champion was the top scorer of the match with 14 points and had no trouble hitting from the left side of the net, converting 11 of her 27 swings into points with a solid 29% efficiency rate.
Passing, something Antropova didn't have to do as an opposite, was not an issue either, as she didn't make errors in any of the 18 Bulgarian serves that went her way during the match, while also producing the team's second-best mark of eight digs.
"Julio (Velasco, head coach) told me about this idea at the start of the season, and I answered immediately," she added. "If that's something that will help the team, I'm really happy to do it. I'm giving my best to try to become something else, and we'll see how it goes."
Antropova is not the first opposite to switch positions to allow for another player in the same position to be on the court at the same time. Türkiye adopted the same strategy in 2023, moving Ebrar Karakurt to outside hitter so Melissa Vargas could join the starting lineup. With them together, the Turkish won the VNL and the European Championship in 2023, made their first semifinal appearance in 2024 and won their first World Championship medal in 2025, claiming silver.
The perspective of having her and Egonu together on the court, however, may be unprecedented in terms of combining two players with such firepower on the same team and could be an important tool for Italy to continue at the top of the world.
"It's important for us to have these variations and possibilities," Antropova remarked. "Winning is great, but in sports the victories don't last long, and you need to start over every time. I don't want that all that we accomplished over the last year weighs on us, so we'll just create a new game and see where it will take us."
