The Bulgarian national volleyball team lost both of its home games with the same score 1:3 against Poland on June 23-24 in Varna on the Black Sea. The games were part of the fifth weekend of World League intercontinental round.

This was the first loss for Bulgaria after four consecutive weeks of leading the other teams in Group D: Argentina, China and Poland.

Despite the strong support of more than 7000 supporters who had filled the Palace of Sports and Culture’s hall, the top Bulgarian team did not manage to put up a sufficient defence to the mighty Poles. Even the presence of President Georgi Purvanov who in the past few months attended almost every home game of the team, failed to help the players win this time. Poland, on the other hand, did not have any problems with its performance and played its usual routine. The two teams met last year in the semifinals of the World Cup tournament in Japan. There, Bulgaria lost to Poland and had to be satisfied with the fourth place. This time however the loss had only an emotional value since both teams have already qualified for the final six which will be staged in Poland’s Katowice on July 11-15. Bulgaria’s opponents will be Brazil and Russia, who are the top teams in Pools A and C. Poland face the top team from Pool B and the wild-card team. After the games played last weekend together with Brazil, Poland remained the only unbeaten squad in the 2007 World League. After the game Bulgarian head coach Martin Stoev said “Unfortunately we made some bad mistakes in delivering key balls at the end of 3rd and 4th set and that cost us the win. This game was a real test of Poland and Bulgaria’s current levels before the finals in Katowice. Our first setter did not have his best day but the second one, Zarev, had an injury and it was risky to put him in earlier. The second match offered same scenario and the same result.” On June 30 and July 1 Bulgaria will play the return visit to Poland which will mark the end of the campaign for both teams.