FIVB Volleyball Championship 2010: Bulgaria dumped Spain in the third round opener
Bulgaria enjoyed the great victory over Spain in the third round opener on 4th October, 2010. The Mandela Forum in Florence, Italy hosted the first combat of third round between Bulgaria and Spain. The four set thrilling match pumped Bulgaria,
while dumped Spain after a tiring battle. Bulgaria successfully managed to post 3-1 (25-21, 27-25, 26-28, and 25-18) over Spain. The match was attended by 3’200 spectators, who cheered at the winning shots on top of their lungs. The match was started on 21:05
local time and it continued for 2:03 hours.
Labasta Milan from Czech Republic and Dudek Piotr of Poland performed their duties as the match referees. Bulgarian team was headed by Silvano Prandi, the coach who enabled the team to crop out good results. Likewise, Spanish team was supervised by Julio
Velasco from Argentina.
First Set
Both teams had the equal potential as they were top-scorers in their respective pools in second round. The first set started with a great pace. The exchange of killing serves and powerful shots created frenzy in the game. Bulgaria tried to overcome Spain
with better hits but Spaniards were equipped with good defence techniques and they survived the severe attacks. In response, they also bombarded Bulgarian court with ground-breaking shots. At the end of first technical timeout (TTO), the scoreboard showed
7-8 and the game was more like point-to-point fight.
Bulgaria kept on bringing more power in their attack and built a lead of 3 points (18-15). Spain put their level’s best effort to break Bulgarian lead but couldn’t achieve success. They trailed behind the Bulgarian score. Bulgaria maintained lead and remained
consistent in attacking Spanish weak areas. The speedy aces of Aleksiev Todor of Bulgaria scored straight points. Spanish blockers couldn’t stand the cruising shots and lost the first set with a margin of 4 points. Bulgaria was successful with a score of 25-21
in first set.
Second Set
Bulgaria got the edge by winning first set and started the second set with perfect serves. The team produced electrifying spikes and put pressure on Spain. The main force behind the team line-up was Prandi who backed up team at every crucial point. The Bulgarians
played in their usual style and built a lead of 10-4. Spaniards were quick in smashing the ball in opponent’s court but their shots lack variety. Bulgaria grasped the idea of their attack and easily managed to dismiss their attempts.
Bulgaria blocked some of the finest shots hit by Spanish Perez Iban. After the first TTO, Spain changed the attack strategy and helped their score to rise up. They managed to steal points from Bulgaria and tied the score at 16-16. The head coach called for
some substitutions in Bulgarian side and tie was broken in the next few minutes. Bulgaria extended its score to 18-16. Spain also responded and score was tied at 22-22 once again. In the end, Bulgaria won some nice rallies and ended the second set at 27-27.
Third Set
Bulgaria was in better position after winning the first two sets. Somehow, Spaniards didn’t lose heart and kept on trying. They refused to take pressure from Bulgaria and hit nice volleys. It was not an easy task to overcome charged up Bulgarian side but
Spain brought in their best players in the game. Spanish team gained confidence with 8-6 lead on Bulgaria at the first technical timeout. They further kept an upper-hand on Bulgaria and extended their lead to 15-13. It was a very positive change for Spain
and they finally found their feet in game. Bulgaria tied the score at 21-21 but couldn’t avoid the chances of defeat by 26-28 in third set.
Final Set
Unfortunately Spain couldn’t stay on the course of success in fourth set, Bulgaria regained commanding position in the game. Bulgarian players controlled their movement in the court and claimed the final set with a score of 25-18. Bulgaria won the important
match against Spain and qualified for the semi-final.
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