Bulgaria – team
Bulgaria scored the first rally of the match but the Czechs walked away 6:2 and 8:4 in the opening set before the ladies coached by Marcello Abbondanza could flip the charts around at 11:10. Even though the Czechs dictated the pace of the game for most of the opening set, still Bulgaria drew level at 22 before their opponents sealed the final 25-23.
Helena Havelkova anchored her side in the second set and the Czechs, winners of the 2012 European League, could move up 2:0 after scoring a relatively easy 25-17 in set 2.
Bulgaria stepped up in set 3 with Elitsa Vasileva, Mariya Filipova and Diana Nenova that helped go for the final 25-22.
Bulgaria stretched that tempo also to set 4 (25-19) and called for the tie-break where they opened strong (5:1) and played with great enthusiasm to wrap it up at 15-12 and complete their comeback.
