CHICAGO, United States, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China lost 3-1 to Bulgaria in the men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) here on Friday, dropping to a 1-10 win-loss record in the preliminary phase.
China made a strong start against the world No. 10 side, taking an early 4-1 lead and held on in the closing stages to win the opening set 25-22.
Bulgaria responded in the second set, producing a 5-0 scoring run at the start before leveling the match with a 25-14 victory. The European team continued to dictate the rhythm in the next two sets, winning both 25-20 to complete a comeback victory.
Bulgaria's outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov had a game-high 28 points, while China's opposite Wen Zihua contributed a team-high 13 points.
Despite the loss, China coach Vital Heynen said the team showed improvement compared with its straight-sets defeat to the United States.
"There's always the disappointment of losing. But it's amazing that we played against the world championship silver medalist and we were in the match. We were there, so I have to be satisfied," Heynen said after the match.
The defeat left China at the bottom of the standings, while Bulgaria moved closer to the qualification zone for the VNL Finals, sitting eighth with a 6-4 record.
In the other match in Chicago on Friday, defending champion Poland strengthened its position in the race for the Finals by defeating Brazil 25-22, 28-26, 25-19. Poland moved to third place with an 8-2 record, while Brazil slipped to ninth at 6-5.
China will face Brazil in its final match of the Chicago leg on Sunday.
The 2026 VNL Finals will be held in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, from July 29 to August 2, with China qualifying directly as the host team. Enditem
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