“Whoever had time, ate it.” “Zenith” St. Petersburg is further and further away from the leaders of the Russian Super League

December 20, 2023 was the rare occasion when all matches on the Men’s Volleyball Super League tour were played on the same day. In the final pair they faced Kemerovo Kuzbass, who had gained momentum and had already managed to cause a lot of difficulties for the leaders, and Zenit St. Petersburg, who were still looking for the optimal composition due to injuries.

The new tour was another test for Viktor Sidelnikov’s team: the St. Petersburg team had 11 names on the application sheet. For the match they missed blocker Maxim Kosmin, who was injured and out for several weeks. Zenit also continued to play with a libero, Semyon Krivitchenko. But all this did not affect the mood of the team, which was able to return to the game after the score was 0-2. This is what the coach pointed out:

“Unfortunately, sometimes it happens that a team plays well but loses. I can’t blame the boys for this: they played with moral strength, especially since there were only 11 of us. In the fifth game perhaps the extra emotion got in the way, emotions were spilled that in the end were not enough.”

Pari Super League – preliminary phase (m). 12th round

December 20, 2023, Wednesday. 20:00 Moscow time

Zenit Saint Petersburg

St. Petersburg

Kuzbass

Kemerovo

Zenit St. Petersburg: Kovalev, Kobzar, Ananyev, Tikhonov, Safonov, Grebennikov, Yakovlev, Krivitchenko, Voronkov, Titich, Kosmin, Shepetis, Zheleznyakov, Zastupov, Poletaev, Klyuka, Polyansky, Manzhosov, Byarda, Kupryashkin

Kuzbass: Fialkovsky, Pavlov, Kostadinov, Pakshin, Yakovlev, Markin, Krechetov, Petkovich, Golubev, Tavasiev, Lobyzenko, Tkachenko, Chereysky, Kashtanov, Grishin, Yulmukhametov, Kozlov, Vlaskov, Asparukhov

The Kemerovo team created problems and intrigue for neutral fans, playing the fourth consecutive match in five sets. In the matches with clubs from the top three, Kuzbass was able to take points from Zenit and Lokomotiv Kazan and completely beat the blue and white on their field.

Great battle between Kuzbass and Lokomotiv:

A game of missed opportunities. The leader of the Czech volleyball team was one step away from failure, but he was saved

So in this match everything went according to the scenario of the last round in Kemerovo. The Siberians once again had a 2:0 lead, but allowed their rivals to impose their game and take everything to the fifth set. “I don’t know what happens in the third game, we started losing, it’s not the first time. Perhaps the reason lies in the time: in Kemerovo it is already quite late. The coaching staff and I are already used to five games, we treat them calmly,” commented Alexandr Gerasimov after the game.

In the first half the locals immediately took the initiative of the game and the score was 6:3. But the entire KSK Arena, and especially the Zenit coaching staff, was paralyzed after Pavel Zheleznyakov’s unsuccessful landing, because the team was already playing with a truncated lineup with a diagonal. Fortunately for the residents of St. Petersburg, everything went well and Pavel continued the meeting.

In the middle of the match Ivan Yakovlev made a series of three excellent blocks (11:6). But with Denis Chereisky’s serve the teams were even, and the game was tied until the score reached 21:21. And in the end, Kuzbass was again helped by service: Chereysky, Markin and Dusan Petkovic scored. The first set goes to Kemerovo – 25:22.

Kuzbass beat Zenit

Photo: MEC “Zenith”

In the second set, the audience experienced deja vu: Yakovlev left the attacks of Chereisky and Petkovich under his block – 14:10. “Kuzbass” again had to defend, which made it difficult for the hosts to receive with their serve – 15:15. In the end, both teams first exchanged attacks and then errors when entering the ball. But the concentration of the guests allowed the final touch to be put to the match (26:24).

In the third game, Viktor Sidelnikov decided to replace the point guards, releasing Igor Kobzar instead of Kovalev. The locals, as if they had taken a breath of fresh air, transformed: 6-1 already at the beginning. For Kuzbass, on the other hand, all the elements began to decline after two productive games.

Alexey Babeshin replaced all his wingers, but this did not help the team to get closer to the rival (3:10, 10:17). And Zenit finished the set with a double advantage: 25:13.

The next game turned out to be almost a remake of the previous one: 25:19. St. Petersburg volleyball players once again gained a comfortable five-goal lead. Then Lobyzenko and Petkovich blocked Voronkov’s attacks with blocks (13:11). The center of the Kuzbass net scored and tied the score (16:16), but its own mistakes did not allow the Kemerovo team to take the initiative. Ivan Yakovlev’s block was once again an “obstacle” for the Kemerovo attackers and the decisive argument for Zenit’s victory in the set.

Kuzbass beat Zenit

Photo: MEC “Zenith”

In the reduced set, after 3:3, the Kemerovo team made a breakthrough: Markin covered Zheleznyakov’s attack with a single block, and Chereisky with his serve sent Zenit to a timeout (3:6). The volleyball players of the northern capital were able to get back into the game thanks to Voronkov’s brilliant serves and Yakovlev’s powerful attacks through the center (8:7). The Kuzbass captain had to take the initiative into his own hands: the attack and then the serve helped to gain a two-goal lead. But in the tense finale, luck was on the side of the guests: 16:14 and 3:2.

“It is difficult to play five games each game. We already started to get nervous after the second game. Maybe this is what bothers us. As in previous games, we played well in the first two games, we put pressure on the opponent and then we began to make mistakes in all elements. The fifth game is short, here whoever had time ate it up. Today we ate,” said Alexander Markin, captain of the Kuzbass.

Although Kuzbass won, he “missed the net”: 33% effectiveness in attack against 47% for St. Petersburg, the difference in points in the block is also clearly visible: 19:8 in favor of Zenit. But the main elements that did not disappoint the Kemerovo team and gave them victory were serve (8-3) and reception (53% – 40%).

The most productive player of the winning team was Dusan Petkovic: the Serbian player scored 17 points (12 kills, four aces and one block). The Zenit team includes finisher Fyodor Voronkov, who scored 27 points (25 attacks and two blocks). I would also like to highlight the excellent net play of Ivan Yakovlev, who stopped most of Kuzbass’ attacks by placing eight “covers” at once, and also scored 12 points with his attack.

Surprisingly, the victory in this match pushed the Kemerovo team back to fifth place in the standings. Siberian volleyball players missed the best percentage of matches against Belogorye, with whom they will face in the next round. And Zenit St. Petersburg remained in seventh place.

In the final match of this year, Kuzbass will try to tame the Belgorod lions on their site. And the St. Petersburg volleyball players will visit Ufa Ural, where, after a change of coach, the team has already managed to surprise by beating Dinamo Moscow.