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Bulgaria claimed their first victory at the continental Olympic qualifier in Apeldoorn to finish their Pool A campaign with a 1-2 win-loss record. After their 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 21-25, 25-22) win over Azerbaijan, both teams saved very slim chances at making the semifinals. Azerbaijan recovered from the five-point lead Bulgaria had at 20-15 to catch up at 22-22. Moments later, however, Gergana Dimitrova spiked successfully twice in row to bring the set home at 25-23 Bulgaria’s way.

With Polina Rahimova on fire, the second set was quite competitive through 16-16, but with the unforced errors weighing in and middle blocker Hristina Ruseva perfect at the net, the Bulgarians were well in control of the last third of the set. Ruseva herself put down the last ball for 25-19 to double her team’s lead. With Bulgaria’s Elitsa Vasileva off the court for the next set, the eastern European team took control of the scoreboard. Improving their reception and their spiking, the Azeris also added four stuff blocks, including that of Ayshan Abdulazimova, which closed the set at 25-21.

The southern Europeans were in control for the most part of the fourth set, but after Azerbaijan had caught up for a while, it was sub-in Mira Todorova’s blocks that tilted the balance Bulgaria’s way again. Another sub-in, Mariya Karakasheva closed the match with a spike for 25-22. 18-year-old Aleksandra Milanova contributed 20 points to the victory, while Azerbaijan’s captain Yelyzaveta Samadova scored a match high 23.