Bulgaria bounce back and claim first VNL 2025 win

Veteran Atanasijević and youngster Stoyanova lead the team against the Dominican Republic

Bulgaria (BUL) vs. Dominican Republic (DOM) women – Pool 1 – Preliminary Phase #46447981
Back with the Bulgarian national team this season, Atanasijević has been in great form at the start of the VNL

Bulgaria needed less than 24 hours to erase the frustration of their dramatic loss against Canada in their Volleyball Nations League 2025 debut and secure their first victory in the seventh edition of the tournament on Thursday in Ottawa.

The Europeans overcame the Dominican Republic, the sensations of the first day of action at The Arena at TD Place, and got to celebrate their first victory under the guidance of new head coach Antonina Zetova. A few hours later, the Netherlands also claimed their first victory in the VNL 2025, beating hosts Canada.

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The Bulgarians showed great promise in their debut in the VNL 2025, coming back from a two-set deficit to take Canada to the tie-breaker on Wednesday, but were unable to capitalize and take the victory. On Thursday, things were different as, except for part of the second set, the Europeans were in control the entire time to beat the Dominicans, who had upset Serbia in their debut, 3-1 (25-21, 30-32, 25-19, 31-29).

The victory in Ottawa marked the first triumph of the team since Zetova, one of the country’s all-time greatest players, took over. The new coach brought some veterans back to the national team to mix them with the country’s talented young players and her strategy worked to perfection against the Dominicans, with Bulgaria having 35-year-old outside hitter and team captain Elitsa Atanasijević, with 21 points (20 kills, one ace), and 19-year-old opposite Mikaela Stoyanova, who tallied 20 (13 kills, four blocks, three aces), as their leading scorers. Another player brought back by Zetova, 32-year-old middle blocker Nasya Dimitrova registered 18, with 15 kills, two blocks and one ace.

“I feel amazing,” Stoyanova said after the match. “We needed this win after losing to Canada in the first match. It was hard, we made some mistakes that cost us the second set, but I’m glad that we won. The end of the fourth set was very close too, but we kept believing that we could do it and stuck together.”