The Bulgarian U19 women’s national team won the gold medal at the U19W Balkan Championship, held from June 11 to 15 in Tirana.
In the final match of the tournament, Bulgaria claimed the gold medal after a comeback victory over Turkiye, winning 3:1 (19:25, 25:18, 25:16, 25:23). Kalina Veneva led Bulgaria with 19 points. On the Turkish side, Aylin Uscalan scored 16 points, while Ceylin Cuyan added 15.
Turkiye finished in second place, taking the silver medal, while Serbia secured the bronze after defeating Romania 3:0 (30:28, 25:13, 25:13) in the third-place match. Serbia was led by Anja Miovčić with 14 points, Katarina Gagić with 11, and Bojana Ristanović with 10. For Romania, Gabriela Bianca Cucu stood out with 11 points.
In the 5th-place match, the host nation Albania defeated North Macedonia 3:1. Sonia Sulejmani was the top scorer for Albania with 23 points, while Androtea Milevska scored 21 for North Macedonia.
Individual awards:
The MVP of the U19 Women Balkan Championship was Kalina Naneva from Bulgaria.
The best setter of the U19 Women Balkan Championship was Irmak Alpinar from Turkiye.
The best middle blocker of the U19 Women Balkan Championship was Darina Naneva from Bulgaria.
The best outside spiker of the U19 Women Balkan Championship was Kalina Naneva from Bulgaria.
The best opposite of the U19 Women Balkan Championship was Aylin Uysalcan from Turkiye.
The best libero of the U19 Women Balkan Championship was Nena Vujović from Serbia.
The fair play player of the U19 Women Balkan Championship was Klea Tare from Albania.
