Bulgaria beats Germany 3-1 in Pool D: 2011 CEV Volleyball European Championship
A Pool D match of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European Championship took place between Germany and Bulgaria on the 12th of September. Prague set the stage for the clash between the two sides which lasted four thrilling sets at the end of which the
German squad found themselves on the losing end by 1-3.
By the time that the match had reached its close and the Bulgarians had started the celebrations and the final set scores showed: 25-16, 25-27, 26-24 and 25-23.
The first set of the game was completely dominated by the Bulgarians as the Germans were seen struggling with their game. However, the loss of the initial set triggered the Germans into action in the second set and they were able to put up a significant
challenge against the Bulgarians and eventually equalise the match by winning the second set. Unfortunately for the Germans, they could not repeat their performance in the third and fourth sets while the Bulgarians remained persistent throughout and managed
to win the contest.
The head coach of the German team, Raul Lozano, shared his views in the following manner after his team had won the match: “We started pretty well but we gradually lost our focus. Our performance in the third set was not good and I can only wish all the
best to Bulgaria for the remainder of the tournament.”
On the other hand, the Bulgarian mentor Radostin Stoytchev expressed himself in this way: “I am glad that we took this game. We came here to play good Volleyball and we did so today.”
The Germans were outclassed by the Bulgarians all through the match. The points where the Germans found themselves to be in a leading position was largely due to the errors of the Bulgarians rather than the strong play of the Germans. However, both the attack
and defence of the Bulgarians was working in sync to keep the pressure up on the Germans.
The Bulgarians were able to take the lead early on in the opening set and stay with the advantage for the entire duration while the Germans kept lagging behind until Bulgaria had bagged the first set at 25-16. The Germans made a comeback in the second set
and were helped by the lack of focus of the Bulgarians and won it at 27-25. However, the next two sets went to the Bulgarian side at 26-24 and 25-23 respectively.
Unfortunately for Germany, the team has been on a losing streak that has just been stretched to three losses. The last loss against Bulgaria was the last straw as the Germans now find themselves no longer in the running for the quarter-finals of the tournament.
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