Summerside, Canada, June 12, 2015 – Danail Milushev’s 17 points lifted Bulgaria to a thrilling five-set (20-25, 25-19, 22-25, 27-25, 15-12) triumph over hosts Canada in Pool C of the FIVB Volleyball World League at the Credit Union Place on Friday.
Canada’s Gavin Schmitt could not top Milushev’s performance and only produced 15 points on a losing effort. Milushev, however, waxed hot on the attack line with 16 kills. His team-mates Teodor Todorov and Viktor Yosifov were feisty against the Canadian spikers as they each scored five blocks each out of their 12 blocks.
Canada gained a two-set advantage in the third set but missed out on the fourth as Bulgaria pushed them over the edge 27-25 to extend the match to a tiebreaker.
The fifth set opened with errors but Bulgaria rattled off four consecutive points to take a 6-2 lead. Canada somehow bridged the gap on a 3-0 run but their substitutions favoured the Bulgaria as the visiting side pulled through with an 8-5 advantage. Canadian captain Frederic Winters’ heroics tied the score at 8-all, followed by a series of lead changes. Canada’s net violation the turning point in the match, as Bulgaria never looked back and secured the deciding set at 15-11.
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