The triumph against a higher-ranked opponent earned the Bulgarians 14.63 FIVB World Ranking points, which helped them continue to move up, going from 15^th to 14^th. The Slovenians went in the opposite direction, going from fourth to fifth after the defeat.

The result also placed the Bulgarians, who have two victories in as many matches in Burgas and four in six VNL 2025 encounters, strongly in the mix for a spot in the Finals, elevating them to fifth place in the VNL standigs, with 11 points – the same amount as Slovenia, who are now sixth. The seven best teams in the Preliminary Phase and hosts China will compete in the Finals, which are going to be held in Ningbo, from July 30-August 3.

Star outside hitter Aleksandar Nikokov again played a major role in a Bulgarian victory in the VNL 2025, tallying 19 points (16 kills, two aces, one block) against the Slovenians. Making his first appearance in the tournament, opposite Dimitar Dimitrov also had a productive shift, adding 11 points (seven kills, four blocks).

“We got the best fans in the world,” Nikolov said about the support of the home fans. “Our game dropped a lot in the third set after we had a 12-3 lead, but we managed to come back. Only good teams can come back from this. We’re a good team and we’re here to win.”

On the Slovenian side, opposite Nik Mujanović led the way with 13 points (12 kills, one block), two more than outside hitter Rok Možič, who got his entire production in kills.

The other match of the day in Burgas had Ukraine taking Japan down 3-2 (24-26, 25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13). On Saturday, Slovenia will play France at 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT), while Bulgaria will meet Türkiye at 19:00 (16:00 GMT).