Bulgaria are the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U19 World Champions.

The European champions produced a remarkable comeback to edge out USA by 3-1 at the Gradski Vrt Hall in Osijek on Sunday and dethrone the defending champions. This is the first time in history Bulgaria has won a World Championship title in women's volleyball at any age category.

Even more rewarding is that this is the first women's team to become world champion across all team sports in Bulgaria.

In the third-place playoff played earlier on Sunday, Poland saw off Türkiye in straight sets to secure the bronze medal and complete the podium. The other playoff battles also concluded on Sunday, both in Croatia and Serbia, as the final standings from first to 24th place were confirmed.

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Final

Bulgaria coach Atanas Petrov had promised USA a big fight after qualifying for the final on Saturday and his team did exactly that to rally from a set down and defeat USA by 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 29-27). After losing the first set, Bulgaria regrouped and backed by their noisy supporters, staged a spirited fight to win the next three sets. USA committed way too many unforced errors (37 to 23) that ultimately proved costly. That coupled with great serving from Bulgaria handed the European champions the gold medal.

Alexandra Kitipova contributed 2 aces to Bulgaria’s splendid display of serving. The opposite added another 12 spike kills to emerge as Bulgaria’s best performer alongside middle blocker Darina Naneva (9, 4, 1). Outside hitter Edna Todorova also reached double digits with 10 points (9, 0, 1), same as her cross-court partner Kalina Veneva whose tally was all drawn from attack. Outside hitter Suliane Davis replied for USA with a game-high 17 points (13, 1, 3) while Macaria Spears added another 12 points (10, 2, 0).

“Our most important quality is that we don’t give up. We are a team that keeps on going especially when faced with difficult situations. The girls executed our tactical plan well but most importantly we fought for every point together as a team.

“We are now Balkan, European and World Champions. This is the first time this is happening in the history of Bulgarian volleyball. This team is the future for Bulgaria and also the present. They have shown today that they are ready to play at the high level,” said Petrov.

3^rd place match

Poland bounced back from their 3-0 semifinal loss to USA to record a straight sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-20) victory over Türkiye and claim the bronze medal. It was the second meeting between the two European teams and Poland once again dominated the Turks in attack (41 to 38) and blocking (11 to 3) to run out 3-0 winners, just like in the preliminary round.

Outside hitter Natasza Ornoch led the Poles with a game-high 16 points (15, 1, 0), and she was supported by her cross-court partner Liliana Wojcik who tallied 15 points (12, 2, 1). Opposite Aylin Uysalcan celebrated her 16^th birthday with a decent return of 13 points (12, 1, 0) to emerge as Türkiye’s best performer. Her teammate, outside hitter Ceylin Kuyan, also reached double digits with 12 points (8, 1, 3).

“We knew that we had to play hard and be powerful in every action today. We kept on pushing and finally we got the win. I’m so happy that we have managed to get bronze. It’s a good reward for all the hard work we have put in as a team. We also dedicate this medal to our fans, most of them are our parents and they have been travelling all the way from Poland to support us in every game since the start of the tournament,” said Poland captain Nadia Siuda.

Dream Team

Champions Bulgaria dominated the Dream Team, producing four players led by Dimana Ivanova who was named the Most Valuable Player and Best Setter.

She was joined in the Dream Team by her teammates, Kalina Veneva (Best Outside Hitter), Denitsa Angelova (Best Middle Blocker) and Viktoria Ninova (Best Libero).

USA produced two players namely Henley Anderson (Best Opposite) and Suliane Davis (Best Outside Hitter). Completing the Dream Team was Poland’s Maja Koput as Best Middle Blocker.

MVP and Best Setter: Dimana Ivanova (BUL)

Best Outside Hitters: Kalina Veneva (BUL) and Suliane Davis (USA)

Best Middle Blockers: Denitsa Angelova (BUL) and Maja Koput (POL)

Best Opposite: Henley Anderson (USA)

Best Libero: Viktoria Ninova (BUL)

5^th place match

Italy finished in 5^th place in the final tournament standings after rallying from two sets down to overcome China 3-2 (18-25, 21-25, 27-25, 25-17, 17-15) in their classification match. It was the second win for Italy against Asians after beating them by 3-1 in the preliminary round. Leading Italy in their comeback win was outside hitter Stella Caruso with 21 points (20, 0, 1) while middle blocker Xiaohui Chen returned a game-high 30 points (24, 3, 3), the highest by any player in the entire tournament.

7^th place match

Japan returned to winning ways on Sunday by beating Brazil 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 28-26) to claim 7^th place at the World Championship. Opposite Rion Chuganji continued her rich form in attack, recording a game-high 25 points (22, 2, 1) for the Asians while Brazil replied through Luize Da Silva Tavares who posted 19 points (16, 2, 1).

9^th place match

U19 World Championship co-hosts Croatia achieved the most of their trip to neighbouring Serbia and finished in 9th place in the final standings. At the Trstenik hall near Vrnjacka Banja on Sunday, they mastered a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-17) sweep of the 9th place match against Argentina. They completely outspiked and outblocked the opponents on the way to the victory. Croatia’s 16-year-old opposite Asja Zolota was the best scorer of the game with 16 points (11, 4, 1). Middle blocker Valentina Lopez Moya topped the chart on Argentina’s side with 6 points (5, 1, 0).

11^th place match

Chinese Taipei celebrated the 11th place after a 3-1 (25-21, 30-28, 17-25, 25-15) win over Mexico at the Trstenik hall, clearly outdoing their opponents in offense with 70 successful spike kills against 48. 16-year-old opposite Xu Zhen-Xuan spearheaded the Asian team with 20 points (18, 1, 1). Mexico’s scorers were led by middle blocker Aitana Rettke Tanguma (10, 1, 5) and outside hitter Angelica Jazmin Torres (15, 0, 1) with 16 points apiece.

13^th place match

Thailand came back from a set down to beat Belgium in a 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-17) classification match for the 13th place in Vrnjacka Banja. In a hard-fought battle, it was Belgium’s more unforced errors (29-19) that made the big difference. The winners were led by outside hitter and captain Supawadee Panwilai with 19 points (16, 1, 2), while Belgium’s opposite Mila Vlahovic produced a match-high 23 points (20, 2, 1).

15^th place match

Hosts Serbia finished the U19 World Championship on a high note. They pleased the home fans in Vrnjacka Banja with a convincing 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-23) victory over Germany to grab the 15th place in the final standings. Outside Anja Miovcic led the home team with 10 points (7, 0, 3). With 15 points (14, 1, 0) to her name, her counterpart Maria Tabacuks topped the scorers' chart of the match.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U19 World Championship: all results

FIVB Volleyball Girls' U19 World Championship: top performances

Top individual scoring performances
30 points - Chen Xiaohui (China) v Italy on July 13
29 points - Rion Chuganji (Japan) v Italy on July 12
28 points - Xu Zhen-Xuan (Chinese Taipei) v Thailand on July 11
26 points - Sinda Ben Hamida (Tunisia) v Peru on July 11
26 points - Sinda Ben Hamida (Tunisia) v Chile on July 7
26 points - Eya Toumi (Tunisia) v Chile on July 7
26 points - Rion Chuganji (Japan) v Tunisia on July 3
26 points - Chen Pin-Yu (Chinese Taipei) v Serbia on July 2

Top individual blocking performances
9 kill blocks - Begum Kacmaz (Turkiye) v Bulgaria on July 12
9 kill blocks - Lara Gabriele Rodrigues Almeida (Brazil) v Chinese Taipei on July 6
8 kill blocks - Anamarija Cizmar (Croatia) v Argentina on July 13
8 kill blocks - Alessandra Talarico (Italy) v Japan on July 12
8 kill blocks - Alessandra Talarico (Italy) v USA on July 11

Top individual serving performances
6 aces - Mikaela Hestmann Tierno (Brazil) v Serbia on July 7
6 aces - Mila Vlahovic (Belgium) v Chile on July 4
5 aces - Aitana Rettke Tanguma (Mexico) v Chinese Taipei on July 13
5 aces - Yalyn Victoria Firpo Filpo (Dominican Republic) v Chile on July 8
5 aces - Pamela Zoe Agosto (Puerto Rico) v Tunisia on July 8

Top team blocking performances
23 kill blocks - Brazil v Chinese Taipei on July 6
20 kill blocks - Egypt v Thailand on July 4
20 kill blocks - China v Japan on July 4
19 kill blocks - Turkiye v Bulgaria on July 12
19 kill blocks - Poland v Japan on July 11
19 kill blocks - USA v Germany on July 8

Top team serving performances
16 aces - Canada v Spain on July 12
15 aces - Germany v Thailand on July 12
15 aces - Turkiye v Spain on July 6
14 aces - China v Serbia on July 8
13 aces - Thailand v Germany on July 12
13 aces - Belgium v Chile on July 4
13 aces - Argentina v Germany on July 11

Highest scoring matches
235 points - USA v Italy 3-2 (31-29, 23-25, 21-25, 30-28, 15-8) on July 11
222 points - Croatia v Canada 3-1 (25-19, 30-28, 25-27, 35-33) on July 4
220 points - USA v Poland 2-3 (23-25, 25-23, 17-25, 27-25, 14-16) on July 4
218 points - Serbia v Chinese Taipei 2-3 (19-25, 25-21, 26-28, 25-21, 13-15) on July 2
215 points - China v Italy 2-3 (25-18, 25-21, 25-27, 17-25, 15-17) on July 13

Longest matches (combined set durations)
121 minutes - Turkiye v Bulgaria on July 12
121 minutes - USA v Italy on July 11
120 minutes - China v Brazil on July 12
119 minutes - Brazil v Chinese Taipei on July 6
118 minutes - Mexico v Belgium on July 11

Highest set scores
35-33 - Croatia v Canada fourth set on July 4
31-29 - USA v Italy first set on July 11
29-31 - Serbia v Croatia first set on July 11
28-30 - Mexico v Chinese Taipei second set on July 13
30-28 - USA v Italy fourth set on July 11
30-28 - Croatia v Canada second set on July 4

Longest sets
37 minutes - Croatia v Canada fourth set on July 4
36 minutes - Mexico v Chinese Taipei second set on July 13
36 minutes - Canada v Puerto Rico thirs set on July 11
36 minutes - Croatia v Mexico first set on July 3
36 minutes - Japan v Tunisia first set on July 3

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