It was a very tight fought game, but the Czechs prevailed
Samokov, July 11, 2015 – Czech Republic beat Bulgaria 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 18-25, 15-11) in a tight FIVB World Grand Prix fixture.
The first set was extremely close, with the score regularly drawing level up to 21-21. Yuliya Stoyanova and Eva Yaneva did the damage for Bulgaria, while Michaela Mlejnkova and Tereza Vanzurova were the Czech’s key scorers, but it was the visitors who won the vital few points at the end of set one, with Vanzurova’s spike sealing a 25-23 win.
Bulgaria however hit back in set two, with Stoyanova and Helena Havelkova particularly dangerous. They took the lead and held it to win the set 25-18. The ding-dong battle continued with the Czechs winning set three, however (25-17), and Bulgaria taking the fourth (25-18) - with Gabriela Koeva assisting Stoyanova ably in attack, to force a decisive set.
But the visitors won it, with Bulgaria just making a few too many errors in the last set. The Czechs won 15-11, and 3-2. Stoyanova was the top scorer in the match with 24 points. Vanzurova got 18 for the Czechs. Read our live text commentary of the match
here