Bulgaria challenged Brazil, but lost 0:3 (21:25, 20:25, 18:25) in their tenth match of the Volleyball League of Nations.

In front of more than 2,500 spectators in “Armena Armeets”, the national women were not equal for more than two games to the vice-champions of the last two editions of the tournament and silver medalists from the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In the final account, the higher class allows the Brazilian women to record their ninth victory and come out second in the provisional ranking.

Bulgaria started with one change compared to the victory over the Dominican Republic in the first meeting in Sofia. Recovered from the injury, Silvana Chausheva returned to the starting lineup in the company of Nasya Dimitrova, Lora Kitipova, Maria Yordanova, Mira Todorova and Miroslava Paskova plus the libero Zhana Todorova.

After a point-for-point chase, ours led 12:10 at the technical break before the wasted reception quickly saw the result in favor of the Brazilians. There followed a block by Nasya Dimitrova and an ace by Paskova, but at 17:14 our rivals strengthened the block. Yordanova gave way to Alex Milanova, after which she was caught in 18:19.

Marinova and Barakova replaced Chausheva and Kitipova soon after that, and the key moment in the game is at 19:20, when doubts arose about four shots of Brazil. In the commotion, the Bulgarian staff continued to ask for an appeal, but gave up after the ball was handled in the backfield.

However, Kissi shut down our attack and until the end of the game the guests were in control.

The Brazilians led from the first to the last point in the second game. A ray of hope flashed after Alex Milanova’s ace for 20:22. At every point, ours reflected a ball in defense, but Maria Yordanova attacked in the aerials. Two bad receptions later, the game goes down in history.

Looking for a change, coach Micheli started the third game with Milanova instead of Yordanova. And until the middle of it, the game is point for point. But at 12:11 Julia Bergman entered the field for Brazil.

The 196-centimetre Georgia Tech hitter made a long serve run, aided by blocks from Makris and Julia Cudies, and the question mark ended.

Nasya Dimitrova is the top scorer for Bulgaria with 9 points (7 out of 10 in attack, block and ace). Miroslava Paskova finished with 7, Yordanova and Todorova – with 6 each. Gabi with 12 points was #1 for the Brazilian women, who registered 11 effective blocks.