Germany stuns EuroVolley hosts Bulgaria with an epic reverse sweep!
6 min read
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Germany pulls off a massive upset in Sofia!
They survived an absolute five-set thriller to defeat hosts Bulgaria in the Round of 16, ending the hosts’ EuroVolley campaign: 21:25, 21:25, 25:19, 25:23, 15:12.
After dropping the opening two sets, Germany completed the incredible comeback to punch their ticket to the Quarterfinals, where they will face defending champions Poland, who easily won against Latvia.
Germany produced one of the biggest comebacks of the competition, recovering from two sets down to defeat hosts Bulgaria in a dramatic game.
The result brought back memories of the teams’ previous EuroVolley meeting in 2021, when Germany also eliminated Bulgaria in the Round of 16, winning 3–1 in Ostrava!
Germany started with greater pressure on Bulgaria’s reception and moved 4–2 ahead, only for an ace from Alex Grozdanov to level the score at 4–4.
The two sides remained locked together at 7–7 before Germany found success through the middle to take an 12–11 lead.
Bulgaria responded through the service line. Simeon Nikolov’s ace sparked a run that took the hosts to 17–13, although Germany immediately fought back, with a Tim Peter ace cutting the deficit to 17–16. Aleksandar Nikolov then took over at a crucial moment, producing a kill and two aces as Bulgaria restored a 23–18 advantage. Anton Brehme’s late ace gave Germany hope at 21–23, but a service error after the timeout handed Bulgaria the opening set.
Bulgaria carried that momentum into the second set, with an ace from Iliya Petkov, while Germany answered through two consecutive Erik Röhrs’ aces to make it 4–4. The hosts then produced their strongest spell of the match, opening a 9–5 lead and forcing a German timeout.
Bulgaria continued to exploit German mistakes, moving to 14–10 and then 16–10. Germany refused to surrender, and a Moritz Reichert’s ace brought them within one at 19–20.
The comeback ultimately fell short as Bulgaria regained their composure and closed out the set.
With their tournament on the line, Germany found another level of play in the third set. Aleksandar Nikolov opened the scoring with an ace, but a series of Bulgarian errors allowed Germany to move ahead 10–9 and then 11–9 after another ace from Anthon Brehme.
Aleks Grozdanov responded with a monster block to level the score at 12–12, but Germany gradually took control.
Bulgaria struggled to contain the German attack as the visitors moved 18–15 ahead, before another Brehme ace made it 22–17.
The fourth set became a battle of nerves.
The teams remained level at 6–6 before a Martin Atanasov attack and a Simeon Nikolov ace put Bulgaria 8–6 ahead. Grozdanov’s block helped the hosts maintain their advantage at 13–11, but Germany’s attacks through the middle began to change the momentum: an ace from Tim Peter helped Germany turn the score around to 20–18, and the visitors extended the lead to 22–18. Asparuh Asparuhov with an ace and a Simeon Nikolov block cutting the deficit to 22–21. Germany nevertheless held their nerve, and a Bulgarian service error at 22–24 gave the visitors the opportunity to close out the set 25–23.
The deciding set was dramatic. Grozdanov’s block initially put Bulgaria 2–1 ahead, but Germany responded to move 4–2 in front. Simeon Nikolov brought Bulgaria back level at 5–5 with a kill and an ace, before Germany produced the crucial breakthrough with a block that made it 10–8.
From there, the pressure shifted entirely onto the hosts: Bulgaria committed five service errors in the deciding set, including one on match point, allowing Germany to complete the comeback and take the tiebreak 15–12.
Germany finished the match with the better attacking efficiency, 53% to 48%, while Bulgaria led in blocks 8–7 and aces 13–11. The decisive difference was ultimately the number of errors: Bulgaria committed 41 compared with Germany’s 32.
Aleksandar Nikolov was the match’s top scorer with 23 points, but it was Erik Röhrs who led the comeback for Germany, finishing with 20 points, followed by Anton Brehme (92% in attack!) and Tobias Brand with 14 and 13, respectively.
“We lacked strength and energy. I felt myself getting heavy. First, I had 5 aces without errors, but after that, I didn’t make even one. I can’t say the reason. Maybe we got exhausted against Poland,” said Aleksandar Nikolov after the game.
For him, the defeat brought a painful end to two special weeks in Sofia.
“A disappointing end, but this championship was a unique journey. It ended a little before what everyone expected. I’m glad we experienced all of this. Hopefully, we’ll have a few more chances to play here again, in this hall,” he added.
Martin Atanasov was even more emphatic about the missed opportunity: “we missed the chance to win 3-0. There was more pressure. We made many mistakes, the Germans started playing well and handled all the balls. They started serving well. Our serve didn’t go in,” he said.
Captain Alex Grozdanov added: “we had the match in our hands, but we didn’t hold onto it. Small details decided things. They took risks. We couldn’t withstand the pressure and their serve. At one point, they made brutal serving runs and that shook us“.
Asparuh Asparuhov dismissed the possibility that Bulgaria had decided too early that the match was already won: “I don’t think we relaxed or thought anything of the sort. It was clear to all of us that the match wouldn’t be easy. As you saw, in the first two sets, we dominated them quite well. Then, our game just didn’t work out,” said the outside hitter.
His analysis also came down to the serve: “We couldn’t place a good serve at all, and that’s where the difference came from. The Germans started taking a lot of risks on their serve from the very beginning.”
Gianlorenzo Blengini’s assessment was similar. The Italian expert pointed to the third set as the moment when the character of the match changed.
“Our opponent raised their level, took some serious risks – mainly on serve and in attack – and put us under pressure, as they had nothing left to lose. I think we lost a bit mentally there. We lost concentration and quick thinking in some important moments,” he said.
“For the Bulgarian audience, I just want to say thank you for your everyday support. To them, I can only say a big thank you, you didn’t deserve this ending. I would like to say sorry and I hope we will learn our lessons. I don’t want to focus now on the team’s next big goal. Right now we have to focus on how to improve ourselves, the future is ahead of us!” said libero Zhasmin Velichkov.
“We are not prepared for our game against Poland, because we need to rest. But I think if we continue to serve like this, we have our chances to win,” conclude German middle blocker Anton Brehme.
After trailing 0–2, Germany had turned the match completely around.
For Bulgaria, meanwhile, the home EuroVolley campaign ended in one of the most dramatic ways possible — with a two-set lead slipping away in front of their home crowd at Arena 8888.
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🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | ROUND OF 16
Saturday September 19, 2026
📍Arena 8888 Sofia
•16.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Latvia 3-0 (25:17, 25:16, 25:16)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
👉🏼 19.00 (Local Time) | Germany – Bulgaria 3-2 (21:25, 21:25, 25:19, 25:23, 15:12)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
Sunday September 20, 2026
📍Palavela Torino
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Finland – Greece
• 21.05 (Local Time) | Italy – Denmark
📍Arena 8888 Sofia
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Ukraine – Romania
• 19.00 (Local Time) | France – Portugal
Monday September 21, 2026
📍Palavela Torino
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Czech Republic
• 21.00 (Local Time) | Slovenia – Serbia
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