Maritza PLOVDIV broke their own record and collected their 11th back-to-back national volleyball crown in Bulgaria’s National Volleyball League (NVL). In a season also highlighted by the club’s first ever advancement beyond the pool stage of the CEV Champions League in the European Cups and their 10th Bulgaria Cup trophy, the Yellow-and-Blues from Europe’s oldest living city cruised through the entire NVL competition undefeated in a total of 26 matches played.
Maritza lost only five sets in 18 regular season matches. It went on to sweep its best-of-three quarterfinal series against fellow citizens Maritza 2022 PLOVDIV with two straight-set victories. In the best-of-five semi-finals, the defending champions allowed CPVK SOFIA only a set in three games played.
The Yellow-and-Blues marched on to win the nationally televised best-of-five championship playoff against Levski SOFIA, again dropping only a set in the three matches of the series. In one of the rare occasions, when they could lift the trophy in front of their home fans in Plovdiv, Maritza’s players closed the final on Friday at a sold-out Stroitel hall with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-19) shutout.
Maritza triumph on the championship podium (photo: startphoto.bg)
“We did a really good job this season and now I just want to enjoy this delightful moment. It was a very successful season for us, but we always want to build further upon our success,” Maritza’s Turkish head coach Ahmetcan Ersimsek commented. “I will be really happy, if our girls contribute to the national team this summer, and then, we will go again, targeting yet another title and yet another cup in Bulgaria, and of course, improving our performance in Europe.”
“It is always a great feeling! I am happy we showed a good game against a competitive opponent and won in an emphatic way. All the kids that we fired up for Volleyball over the years serve as our main motivation. We want to help develop Bulgarian Volleyball, to set an example for other clubs, so that the league level is raised further, also for the benefit of the national team.”
Zhana Todorova
Captain and libero of Maritza
The bronze medals went to CSKA SOFIA, who achieved two wins (3-1 and 3-2) over CPVK SOFIA in the best-of-three third-place playoff.