The Ukrainian men’s national volleyball team successfully wrapped up the second week of the 2025 Nations League with a win over the hosts — Bulgaria.
The match started better for the Bulgarians — they managed to take the opening set with a comfortable lead. However, in the following sets, the Ukrainians increased their aggression and consistency, while also taking advantage of the hosts’ personnel problems: Bulgaria’s main setter Simeon Nikolov was ruled out due to injury, leaving 22-year-old Stoil Palev and Lyuboslav Telkiyski to lead the game.
The most intense was the third set, where Ukraine managed to turn the tide — they held their nerve in the end and won by two points. In the fourth set, Raul Lozano’s men fully controlled the match and confidently sealed the victory.
Nations League 2025. Men. Second week. Match 8
June 29, Sunday
Bulgaria — Ukraine — 1:3 (25:20, 19:25, 24:26, 22:25)
Thus, Ukraine finished the second week with three wins in four matches, defeating strong teams such as Turkey (3:0),Japan (3:2),and Bulgaria (3:1). The only loss came against the reigning champions and Olympic gold medalists France (0:3).
These three wins significantly improved Ukraine’s position in the world rankings and kept their chances alive for reaching the playoffs.
In total, the Ukrainian team has 5 wins and 15 points after eight games.
Ahead lies the third and final week of the group stage, to be held in Ljubljana (Slovenia). There, Ukraine will play against the Netherlands (July 16, 14:00),Italy (July 17, 17:30),Serbia (July 18, 17:30),and Canada (July 20, 14:00).
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