Bulgaria bounce back and claim first VNL 2025 win

Bulgaria needed less than 24 hours to erase the frustration of their dramatic loss against Canada in their Volleyball Nations League 2025 debut and secure their first victory in the seventh edition of the tournament on Thursday in Ottawa.

The Europeans overcame the Dominican Republic, the sensations of the first day of action at The Arena at TD Place, and got to celebrate their first victory under the guidance of new head coach Antonina Zetova. A few hours later, the Netherlands also claimed their first victory in the VNL 2025, beating hosts Canada.

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The Bulgarians showed great promise in their debut in the VNL 2025, coming back from a two-set deficit to take Canada to the tie-breaker on Wednesday, but were unable to capitalize and take the victory. On Thursday, things were different as, except for part of the second set, the Europeans were in control the entire time to beat the Dominicans, who had upset Serbia in their debut, 3-1 (25-21, 30-32, 25-19, 31-29).

The victory in Ottawa marked the first triumph of the team since Zetova, one of the country’s all-time greatest players, took over. The new coach brought some veterans back to the national team to mix them with the country’s talented young players and her strategy worked to perfection against the Dominicans, with Bulgaria having 35-year-old outside hitter and team captain Elitsa Atanasijević, with 21 points (20 kills, one ace), and 19-year-old opposite Mikaela Stoyanova, who tallied 20 (13 kills, four blocks, three aces), as their leading scorers. Another player brought back by Zetova, 32-year-old middle blocker Nasya Dimitrova registered 18, with 15 kills, two blocks and one ace.

“I feel amazing,” Stoyanova said after the match. “We needed this win after losing to Canada in the first match. It was hard, we made some mistakes that cost us the second set, but I’m glad that we won. The end of the fourth set was very close too, but we kept believing that we could do it and stuck together.”

The victory, which earned the Bulgarians 13.29 FIVB World Ranking points, also made the team get to four points in the VNL standings after just two matches, putting them just one point short of matching last year’s campaign in the tournament.

In order to take the win, the Europeans had to overcome an excellent performance from Dominican star outside hitter Brayelin Martínez, who produced an impressive 30 points (27 kills, three blocks). Middle blocker Candida Arias also had a great showing for the Caribbeans, delivering 16 points, with eight blocks, six kills and two aces.

The Netherlands upset Canada

The second match of the day also had a team celebrating their first victory in the VNL 2025. After dropping their opening match to Japan on Wednesday, the Netherlands recovered in great fashion, taking hosts Canada down 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 25-23) to get all three points.

Outside hitter Iris Vos had an excellent performance, registering 20 points (16 kills, two blocks, two aces) for the winning side. Middle blocker Indy Baijens (16), opposite Nicole Van De Vosse (14) and outside hitter Helena Kok (13) all got to double digits in scoring as well.

On the Canadian side, captain and opposite Kiera Van Ryk was the focal point of the team's offense, leaving the court with 17 points (15 kills, one block, one ace).

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

On Friday, two matches will be held in Ottawa. The Dominican Republic and the Netherlands will meet in the first of them, at 16:00 (20:00 GMT), while Serbia and Japan duel later, at 19:30 (23:30 GMT).

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