Plotnytskyi serves up seven aces as Ukraine sweep North Macedonia in Sofia, hosts Bulgaria sweep Portugal

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Ukraine continued their winning start to the CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Men in Sofia, defeating North Macedonia 3-0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:10) to claim their second consecutive victory in the tournament after yesterday success against Israel.
The result was built on two tightly contested opening sets before Ukraine completely took control in the third. At the centre of their performance was Oleh Plotnytskyi, whose seven aces helped turn the Ukrainian service line into one of the biggest weapons of the match.

The opening set began on level terms at 3-3, but Ukraine gradually established control, moving ahead 8-5, 14-8 and then 16-10. Interestingly, North Macedonia actually produced the better attacking numbers in the set, hitting at 56% compared with Ukraine’s 43%!
The difference, however, came elsewhere: Ukraine were more solid in reception, producing 50% positive passes compared with 40% for their opponents, while also making fewer unforced errors — just three against seven from North Macedonia!
That greater consistency allowed Ukraine to maintain their advantage and eventually close the set 25-22.
North Macedonia again stayed within touching distance in the second set. Ukraine reached 17-14, but their opponents launched a late comeback and reduced the gap to just one point at 23-22.
This time, however, Ukraine responded with their best volleyball at exactly the right moment. Their attacking efficiency climbed to 55%, while North Macedonia struggled to maintain the level of the opening set, dropping to 29%. Ukraine won the final exchanges and took another 25-22 set to move within one of victory.
What followed was a completely different story: Ukraine exploded into the third set and never allowed North Macedonia back into the match. Their attack reached a remarkable 71% efficiency, while North Macedonia managed just 35%. But it was the serve that truly broke the game open.
Ukraine finished with as many as 15 aces to North Macedonia’s two, with Plotnytskyi alone responsible for seven of them. The pressure from the service line repeatedly disrupted the Macedonian reception and helped Ukraine build an unassailable advantage.
The final set ended with a clean 25-10, completing a dominant straight-sets victory and sending Ukraine to the next stage of the tournament with two wins already on the board.

Ukraine also held a narrow advantage in blocks, 8-7. Plotnytskyi finished as the match’s leading scorer with 16 points, including his seven aces, while Yevhenii Kisiliuk added 14.
For North Macedonia, captain Nikola Gjorgiev and middle blocker Filip Savovski both finished with eight points.

For Kisiliuk, the immediate objective remains clear: reaching the playoffs and trying to reproduce Ukraine’s achievement at the previous European Championship: “Our main goal for this competition is to go to the playoffs, to show the same result, if possible, as in the last European Championship. But let’s see, nobody will know how it will be. First of all, we have to go to the playoffs,” he said.

North Macedonia, meanwhile, were left to reflect on two sets decided by small margins before the match slipped decisively away from them. Aleksandar Ljaftov pointed specifically to Ukraine’s service pressure as the turning point.
“We lost the first two sets by just a few points, but their service pressure ultimately made the difference. In the third set, we completely lost our composure, especially after Ukraine put together that run of six or seven consecutive serves. I think that was the main turning point,” he added.

And then, in second game of the day, Bulgaria sweep Portugal without major problems, delighting 10,678 fans in a packed Arena 8888 Sofia to watch Bulgaria play their second match of the EuroVolley on home soil.
Among the distinguished guests was also CEV President Roko Sikirić, who attended the match as part of his tour of the four countries co-hosting this year’s European Championship. His visit to Sofia is the first stop on an itinerary that will also take him to Italy, Romania and Finland during the tournament.

On court, however, all attention belonged to the Bulgarian team, who responded to the energy from the stands with a convincing 3-0 (25:18, 25:16, 25:22) victory over Portugal.
Portugal started the opening set with a narrow 4-3 lead, but Bulgaria quickly settled into the match. Their attack and work at the net allowed the hosts to move ahead 7-5, and although Portugal briefly levelled at 7-7, Bulgaria gradually pulled away.
With Aleksandar Nikolov leading the way, Bulgaria opened a 21-16 advantage and never looked back, taking the opening set 25-18.
The hosts held only a slight advantage in attacking efficiency, 55% to 50%, while also edging Portugal in aces and blocks. The bigger difference came from the errors: Portugal gave away nine points through unforced mistakes compared with five from Bulgaria.
Nikolov scored six points in the set, matching Portugal’s André Pereira.
Portugal again started the second set positively, taking a 3-2 lead, but their early momentum quickly disappeared. Bulgaria capitalised on a series of Portuguese errors, prompting head coach João José to call a timeout with his team trailing 7-4.
From that point, Bulgaria took increasingly firm control. Longer rallies consistently went the way of the hosts, while Nikolov continued to provide the attacking spark. Alex Grozdanov and Denislav Bardarov were equally effective at the net, helping Bulgaria stretch the lead from 12-8 to 21-16 before closing out the set 25-16.
The statistics told the story. Bulgaria attacked at 55% efficiency while restricting Portugal to just 31%, and their superiority in reception was even more striking: 67% positive reception for the hosts compared with 32% for Portugal. Bulgaria also added two aces without conceding one.
Portugal refused to go quietly in the third set.
The visitors stayed within reach throughout the opening exchanges, with the teams locked at 7-7 before Bulgaria edged ahead 8-7 and 10-9. A brief spell of Bulgarian errors allowed Portugal to remain in contention, but the hosts regained their composure when it mattered most.
Portugal kept fighting deep into the set, but Bulgaria maintained control of the decisive rallies to win 25-22 and complete another straight-sets victory in front of their home crowd.

Across the match, Bulgaria dominated the main statistical categories. The hosts finished with 60% attacking efficiency against Portugal’s 43%, while their blocking advantage was particularly clear: nine kill blocks to just three. Bulgaria also led in aces, 6-4.
Nikolov once again stood out as Bulgaria’s main offensive weapon, finishing as the match’s top scorer with 17 points to his name, while Pereira was Portugal’s most prolific player with 13.

For Bulgaria, the atmosphere inside the packed arena was as important as anything happening on court.

“It is a great feeling playing here in Bulgaria. The audience is our energy, they give us power – they are the 7th player on the court. We are glad to be hosting EuroVolley. Our goals are clear – to reach the best ranking possible. The team is ready and we will see what will happen,” said Denislav Bardarov after the game.

André Pereira echoed the same sentiment after Portugal’s defeat: “It is a great feeling playing here in Bulgaria. The audience is our energy, they give us power – they are the 7th player on the court. We are glad to be hosting EuroVolley. Our goals are clear – to reach the best ranking possible. The team is ready and we will see what will happen.”

With two victories already secured, Bulgaria have made an ideal start to their home EuroVolley campaign — and the 10,678 voices inside Arena 8888 Sofia are clearly becoming an important part of it.

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🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | Friday, September 11, 2026

POOL A📍PalaPanini Modena
16.00 (Local Time) | Czech Republic – Greece 3-1 (25:21, 25:17, 23:25, 25:23)
21.00 (Local Time) | Slovakia – Slovenia 0-3 (29:31, 15:25, 18:25)

🏐| POOL A STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Italy 3
2. Slovenia 3
3. Czech Republic 3
4. Slovakia 0
5. Greece 0
6. Sweden 0

👉🏼POOL B📍Arena 8888 Sofia
16.00 (Local Time) | Ukraine – North Macedonia 3-0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:10)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
19.00 (Local Time) | Portugal – Bulgaria 0-3 (18:25, 18:25, 20:25)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH

🏐| POOL B STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Bulgaria 6
2. Ukraine 6
3. Poland 3
4. Israel 0
5. Portugal 0
6. North Macedonia 0

POOL C📍Nokia Arena Tampere
17.00 (Local Time) | The Netherlands – Belgium 1-3 (15:25, 25:18, 17:25, 14:25)
20.00 (Local Time) | Serbia – Estonia 3-1 (25:23, 26:24, 26:28, 25:22)

🏐| POOL C STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Finland 3
2. Serbia 3
3. Belgium 3
4. Netherlands 0
5. Estonia 0
6. Denmark 0

POOL D📍 BT Arena Cluj Napoca
17.00 (Local Time) | BT Arena Cluj Napoca
17.00 (Local Time) | Germany – Latvia 3-0 (25:20, 25:20, 25:16)
20.00 (Local Time) | Switzerland – Romania 1-3 (21:25, 23:25, 25:13, 20:25)

🏐| POOL D STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Germany 6
2. France 3
3. Romania 3
4. Latvia 3
5. Türkiye 0
6. Switzerland 0

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NEXT GAMES: Saturday, September 12, 2026

POOL A📍PalaPanini Modena
16.00 (Local Time) | Sweden – Czech Republic
21.05 (Local Time) | Greece – Italy
POOL B📍Arena 8888 Sofia
16.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Israel
19.00 (Local Time) | Bulgaria – Ukraine
POOL C📍Nokia Arena Tampere
15.00 (Local Time) | Denmark – The Netherlands
18.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Finland
POOL D📍 BT Arena Cluj Napoca
17.00 (Local Time) | France – Türkiye
20.00 (Local Time) | Romania – Germany