Bulgaria
The win comes as they are about to compete in their first ever Finals, and with that in mind, star Georg Grozer was rested.
Germany started more convinient in the first set and it looked that they would take the early lead. Bjorn Andrae scored six in the first set as Germany marched on to take the early advantage.
Even without their star Matey Kaziyski and main setter Andrey Zhekov, Bulgaria were not ready to surrender. They returned in the second set lead by Tsvetan Sokolov who scored seven in just a single part of the match. Andrae tried to keep the Germans in touch but it proved elusive as the hosts drew level.
Nikolay Nikolov was the man who carried Bulgaria in the third. With three kill blocks and several nice jumps, he assisted Sokolov, smashing 10 points. But Christian Fromm was on equal form for Germany as he kept them in touch. Surprising turnarounds, brilliant reception and powerful spikes meant both sides stayed in contention until the end. But it was the Germans who wrestled away advantage as they took a 2-1 lead.
Viktor Yosifov brought a new freshness for Bulgaria in the fourth as they went ahead. Germany tried to fight back and turned around the deficit. But it wasn’t enough as Bulgaria took it to a tie-break.
Tsvetan Sokolov tried to keep the hosts in the match in the fifth but his efforts seemed to be in vain. The Bulgarians were within three at 12-9, but their unforced errors proved to be the better of them as they went down 16-14 in the decider.
