Two Bulgarian internationals ready to debut for Maritza

Two players of the highest caliber are ready to reinforce the squad of Maritza Plovdiv ahead of their upcoming match with Dinamo Moscow in Pool E of the 2020 CEV Champions League. Bulgarian internationals Hristina Vuchkova and Emiliya Dimitrova are back from maternity leave very shortly after giving birth and are set to make their official debut with the yellow-and-blue jerseys at the Dvorets Sporta Dinamo on Thursday evening.

190-cm-tall middle blocker Hristina Vuchkova, until recently known by her maiden name Ruseva, became a first-time mom only four months ago, but has recovered from childbirth remarkably fast and even took part in the CEV continental Olympic qualifier defending the Bulgarian colors in Apeldoorn earlier this month. Having started her career from CSKA Sofia and competed for various clubs from Italy, Azerbaijan and Turkey, the 28-year-old athlete, former captain of the national team, played for Turkey’s THY Istanbul before taking her maternity leave. She joined the ranks of Maritza in early November, but the match in Moscow is the first one for which she has been included in the 14-player squad.

Emiliya Dimitrova, previously known as Nikolova, also 28 years of age, gave birth to her first child six months ago. The 185-cm-tall opposite joined the Maritza camp during the winter break for the start of the preparations for the second half of the season, replacing American striker Alexandra Holston who decided to retire from professional volleyball. Most recently, Dimitrova was part of Romania’s CSM Targoviste. Having started at Slaviya Sofia, her playing career has taken her through teams from Italy, Romania, Turkey and Japan. In 2014, she was awarded by the CEV as Champions League Rookie of the Year.

Both Vuchkova and Dimitrova got some playing time during Maritza’s two sparring games in Turkey against Galatasaray HDI Sigorta Istanbul and Yesilyurt Istanbul last week, but they will make their debut in an official match in Thursday’s Champions League encounter with Dinamo Moscow.

The game in the Russian capital will also mark the return of head coach Ivan Petkov at the helm of Maritza. For the first half of the season, the 43-year-old specialist devoted his time solely to his work as head coach of the Bulgarian national team, but after the end of the qualification tournament in the Netherlands Petkov will continue to combine his professional duties between the Yellow-and-Blues and the Lionesses.