In the second week of the men's qualifying round for the Volleyball Nations League 2025 (Bulgaria), the Japanese national team played against Bulgaria on Wednesday 25 June local time and lost 0-3 (25-27, 23-25, 19-25).
Starting Lineup
Japan
MB Sato (8), OP Miyaura (11), OH Otsuka (3), MB Murayama (2), S Nagatsuyu, OH Kai (13), L Ogawa
Substitutes: S Oya, OH Tomita (3), OP Nishiyama (3), OH Yamazaki (1), MB Miwa (2)
Bulgaria
MB Petkov (3), S Nikolov (5), OH Asparukhov (9), MB Groztanov (13), OP Antokhov (11), OH Nikolov (17), L Bozhilov/L Zhelev
Substitutes: OH Atanasov, S Parev
Battle Review
First set: OH Nikolov steps up in the final stages
From the start, Bulgaria took a 0-4 lead with a block from MB Groztanov and a service ace from MB Petkov. From there, Japan made multiple breaks with a spike from OP Miyaura and a block from OH Otsuka, leading to a 10-10 lead, and then a spike from OP Miyaura led to a 13-12 lead. After that, it was a seesaw game for a while, but in the final stages, Bulgaria's mistakes and a block from MB Sato made it 23-20, and a Bulgarian serve error put them on set at 24-21. However, a service ace and spike from OH Nikolov brought the score to deuce at 24-24, and with that momentum, a block from MB Groztanov and a spike from OH Nikolov were successful, giving Bulgaria a 25-27 lead in the set.
Second set: Bulgaria's serve and blocks explode at key moments
Japan took the lead 7-5 with MB Sato's spikes and blocks, but Bulgaria scored with MB Groztanov's spikes and other points to catch up at 11-10. Japan then brought in S Oya and OH Tomita. From there, the game became competitive, with Japan scoring with OH Kai and Bulgaria scoring with OH Nikolov. However, Bulgaria took the lead 18-22 with a service ace from MB Petkov, a block from MB Groztanov, and a service ace from S Nikolov. From there, Japan closed the gap to 23-24 with a service ace from relief server OH Yamazaki and a spike from OP Miyaura, but in the end, a Japanese serve error made it 23-25, and Bulgaria won in a row.
3rd set: L. Ogawa struggled with OP Antov's serve
Japan used S Oya and OH Tomita, as they did in the middle of the second set.
The early stages were close, but OP Antonov's consecutive service aces gave Bulgaria four consecutive breaks to take a big lead of 4-10. After that, Japan replaced OP Nishiyama and S Nagatsuyu. However, Bulgaria widened the gap to 6-14 with S Nikolov's spike and MB Groztanov's block. From there, Japan scored consecutive breaks from OH Kai's serve to close the gap to 12-16, but Bulgaria's spike from OH Nikolov and a service ace from OP Antonov made it 17-24. In the end, OP Antonov's spike was successful, and Bulgaria took the set 25-19 and won 0-3.
Match stats▼
https://vnlm.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227639/
personal MVP
MB Sato Shunichiro

8 points (attack 6, block 2), attack efficiency rate 751 TP 3T
While many players struggled to perform to their full potential, this rising star middle blocker showed consistent performance throughout the match. He countered the tall Bulgarian team with a tall quick and block. I think he could be used more aggressively in terms of quick serves. I also feel that there is room for improvement in his hybrid serve.
OH Alexander Nikolov

17 points (attack 14, serve 1, block 2), attack efficiency rate 481 TP 3T
Nikolov was the top scorer on both teams. He turned the game around with his own service ace in the first set, and continued to contribute greatly to the victory with his high scoring ability and stable performance on both offense and defense. In the Italian League, he has often shown high performance at the end of a set and turned the game around. That competitive spirit was on display in this match as well. On the other hand, Japan did not have any players who had that.
MB Groztanov also put in a fine performance with six blocks.
▶ Start your free trial with U-NEXT now
Qualifying Round Rankings
As of 6:00 on June 26th (Thursday)
1 Poland 4 wins, 1 loss, 13 points, 14/5 sets
2 Slovenia 4 wins, 1 loss, 11 points, 12/7 sets
3 Italy 4 wins, 1 loss, 10 points, 13/9 sets
4 Brazil 3 wins, 1 loss, 9 points, 11/5 sets
5 Japan 3 wins, 2 losses, 9 points, 10/6 sets
6 Bulgaria 3 wins, 2 losses, 8 points, 10/8 sets
7 France 3 wins, 2 losses, 8 points, 11/9 sets
8 Argentina 3 wins, 2 losses, 8 points, 10/9 sets
9 Canada 2 wins, 2 losses, 7 points, 10/8 sets
10 Ukraine 2 wins, 3 losses, 7 points, 10/11 sets
11 Iran 2 wins, 3 losses, 7 points, 10/12 sets
12 China 2 wins, 2 losses, 6 points, 6/7 sets
13 Cuba 2 wins, 3 losses, 6 points, 10/12 sets
14 USA 2 wins, 2 losses, 5 points, 7/9 sets
15 Germany 1 win, 4 losses, 6 points, 10/13 sets
16 Türkiye 1 win 4 losses 3P 5/12 sets
17 Netherlands 1 win 4 losses 3P 5/13 sets
18 Serbia 1 win 4 losses 3P 4/13 sets
*The host country China and the top seven teams from the preliminary rounds will advance to the final round.
Next race information
June 26th (Thu) 21:00~ vs France
How to watch
Here's how to watch VNL2025:
Related links
Photo: FIVB