VNL 2025

Five aces by Ndiaye, seven blocks by Elouga earn France’s win over Bulgaria

Published 09:16, 11 Jul 2025

Bulgaria (BUL) vs. France (FRA) women - Pool 9 - Preliminary Phase #50995376

France’s Iman Ndiaye about to fire another ace against Bulgaria

Great team effort by France resulted in the team’s fourth win in the women’s Volleyball Nations League. In Friday’s opening match in Chiba, Japan, they outplayed Bulgaria for a four-set victory, which lifted them to ninth place in the current VNL standings on a 4-7 win-loss record and 14 points. Bulgaria stand 13^th on 3-7 and 9.

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Five aces by opposite Iman Ndiaye, seven kill blocks by middle blocker Eva Elouga and 17 spike kills by outside hitter and captain Helena Cazaute were the most important stats that stood out in France’s 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-17, 25-22) win over fellow Europeans Bulgaria.

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Ndiaye also produced two kill blocks, while Cazaute delivered an ace and the block-out hit for the match winner as the two shared the top scorer honors of the game with 18 points apiece. Elouga finished with 13, while her cross-court teammate Amandha Sylves spiked at a 64% success rate and raised four kill blocks towards an 11-point total. Outside Amelie Rotar also reached the double digits with a 10-point contribution to the western Europeans’ victory.

“It was difficult, because we were already two games in the legs, but we won and that’s the most important thing – to finish like this without regrets,” Sylves told VBTV. “But this is not our level. We know we can play better…”

Outside Aleksandra Milanova led Bulgaria’s scorers with 16 points, including two kill blocks. 20-year-old opposite Mikaela Stoyanova raised four kill blocks and fired two aces towards a total tally of 15 points for the southern Europeans.

Bulgaria vs. France - Highlights | Women's VNL 2025

Friday’s next VNL game – a big match between Poland and Brazil in Chiba – is set to serve off at 19:20 local time (10:20 UTC).