Chicago, Illinois — Bulgarian volleyball continues to make its mark overseas, one milestone at a time. Atanas Petrov has officially been named assistant coach of the University of Missouri women's volleyball team, which competes in one of the toughest conferences in NCAA Division I.
For Petrov, this marks another step forward in a thriving international coaching career. The Bulgarian specialist brings extensive European experience, having led Bulgaria's youth national teams as well as clubs in Greece, Switzerland, and Romania, and having served as head coach of Romania's senior women's national team.
The high point of his career so far came in 2025, when he guided Bulgaria to the U19 World Championship title — a triumph that established him as one of the most respected young coaches in Europe.
The Missouri appointment comes at a time when women's volleyball in the United States is growing at an extraordinary pace, with the college game serving as its primary engine. Interest has grown so significantly that two professional leagues now operate in the U.S. — Major League Volleyball (MLV) and League One Volleyball (LOVB) — drawing both internationally experienced players and top graduating collegiate talent.
Three Bulgarians will compete in these professional leagues this season: Iveta Stanchulova with Columbus Fury in MLV, along with Nasya Dimitrova and Miroslava Paskova, who will represent Houston and Atlanta, respectively, in LOVB.
Petrov won't be the only Bulgarian making his mark in college volleyball this season. Four of his gold-medal-winning athletes from the 2025 World Championship are also set to debut in the NCAA: Denitsa Angelova (Miami), Viktoria Ninova (Cincinnati), Vyara Parapunova (Coastal Carolina), and Simona Ivanova (San Francisco).
The list of Bulgarians across college volleyball continues to grow: Raya Mlyakova (Saint Thomas-Miami), Mihaela Harizanova (University of Illinois at Chicago), Karina Barzanova (New Orleans), Viktoria Dimitrova and Magi Milichevich (Binghamton), Veronika Petrova and Eleonora Gicheva (Miami Dade), Violeta Bachvarova (Southern Oregon), Mira Chohadzhieva (Elmhurst), Deana Petrov (University of Central Florida), Santina Marcheva (Virginia Tech), and others. Most of these athletes arrived from Bulgaria on athletic scholarships, though others were born and raised in the U.S. or elsewhere abroad — such as Julia Stanev (Marquette), who grew up in Italy, and Elina Arsov (Saint Peter's, New Jersey), who grew up in France.
Perhaps the most anticipated match on Petrov's schedule will be Missouri's clash against the University of Nebraska — currently the most popular program in women's college volleyball. The showdown is set for September 6th at the legendary Wrigley Field in Chicago, which holds more than 41,000 spectators. It will be a stern test for the Missouri Tigers, who lost several key players last season and have brought in six freshmen this summer.
Nebraska already rewrote college volleyball history in 2023, when it played in front of 92,000 fans at its football stadium in Lincoln. Sold-out stadiums stand as the clearest evidence of the explosive growth in interest surrounding women's volleyball in the U.S.
Interestingly, another Bulgarian — Tanyo Trifonov — led his Long Island University (LIU) squad against Nebraska in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament. Trifonov currently serves as Director of Volleyball Operations at LIU.
The fact that so many Bulgarian athletes and coaches are playing a role in the growth of women's volleyball in the United States is an undeniable success for the sport back home. The NCAA season has already kicked off, and the opening matches have already signaled a season full of hard-fought battles ahead.
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Photo: Missouri University
