Bulgaria rallies past Poland in the Olympic action – Volleyball News
In Pool A of the 2012 London Olympic Men’s Volleyball Tournament, teams from Bulgaria and Poland crossed their ways on Wednesday at the Earls Court.
Bulgaria displayed a better action on the net and earned 3-1 (25-22, 29-27, 13-25, and 25-23) victory in the match. Bulgarian team shocked the Poles with an outstanding performance and improved to 2-0 in the competition. Victory also moved Bulgaria to the
top slot in Pool A, while Poland settled in No. 3 position with 1-1 record. More than 11,000 spectators witnessed the match.
Bulgaria was led by Tsvetan Sokolov, who devastated the opponents with his unstoppable spikes and serve-aces. He contributed match-high 28 points and played an instrumental role in Bulgaria’s success in the match. Furthermore, Todor and Viktor added 12 and
10 points, respectively.
Poland’s Bartosz Kurek and Zbigniew Bartman staged an eye-catching action on the net, but all their efforts went futile as the team dropped the decision. They contributed 20 and 21 points, in the loss.
First whistle of the referee started things off in the match. The opening frame of the match featured a lot of mistakes from both sides. The score shifted up with close gaps, but Bulgaria remained ahead in the game. Poles made frequent attempts to go up
and came from all angles. Nonetheless, Bulgarian team firmly held the lead and seized first-set win.
Scoring remained tight in the second set from start to end. The spectators saw an exchange of long rallies and the scoreboard experienced a lot of variations. The point-to-point battle continued for 26 minutes and eventually Bulgaria clinched success.
Following the loss of two sets in a row, Poland made a quick comeback in the third set. The Polish coach regrouped the team and gave them a better plan to follow. With the help of better attack and defence, Poland finished the third set with 12-point lead.
It seemed as if Poland was back in the game, but Bulgaria regained better status and pulled off success in fourth set. Bulgaria captured three sets and settled for victory.
Vladimir Nikolov, the captain of Bulgarian team stated: "I am really proud that in this moment of chaos, with coaches coming and going, we're showing our character. This is something which fits very well to the nature and spirit of Bulgarian people.”
His Polish counterpart Marcin Mozdzonek also had his say about the match. He said: “Sometimes things just don’t work out. We were very nervous and stressed, and perhaps we just wanted to win too much. We had huge problems with reception and attack. We played
really bad.”
Tags: