Playing with the champion

On the eve of "Gazprom-Ugra" secured the semi-finals of the Russian Cup, and "MMK-University" has produced the first victory in the tournament. Thus, both opponents approached the match between themselves with a feeling of deep satisfaction and a desire to test the reserves. The leaders of the Urals remained in the reserve square - Venediktov and Ivliev, ate volleyball in a five-set match with Tyumen, and Gazprom-Ugra actively experimented on the position of the diagonal.

to be honest, it was even more interesting to watch the tactical formations of the Surgut people, how to follow the game. So, in the starting lineup, the place of the diagonal was taken by ... Ruslan Galimov (even if Sergey Pirainen is not yet completely healthy, there are THREE players in the team with diagonal experience). And he changed it during the match as part of a double and direct substitution ... Denis Chereisky. But that's not all. Artem Kiselev, passing the front line as a middle blocker, on the back line "changed shoes" into a diagonal. A. Galimov, respectively, returned to the "skin" of the player. Generally, turned out to be a kind of carousel, which the team would hardly have allowed itself in a match with a more serious opponent.

Actually, there is not much to say about the game - the match was held in a training mode with a notorious advantage of Surgut. Sometimes the game went astray, sometimes our guys relaxed so much, what did the aces miss on Chivel's glider, but generally kept the game under control. There was a slight dip in the second batch (8:11), which was promptly liquidated - otherwise no surprises: 25:13, 25:22, 25:19.

It remains to sum up the results of the preliminary part of the Cup of Russia. that the opponent is very hospitable and also played fair play, then he is exactly the same, which we expected - the team in the semi-finals. But this stage of the season has always been considered more in terms of preparation for the national championship, and here the dynamics in the quality of the game is important. Was she? From my point of view, it was, but with certain reservations.

In Surgut, Gazprom-Ugra played the first round with a full-fledged diagonal. Sergei Pirainen fell ill in Kemerovo, and did not appear on the site - his functions, primarily, performed by Pavel Avdochenko, familiar with this craft. Did a good job, but it was noticeable, that the setters cannot fully rely on this edge of the attack - except that in the match with Novaya Pavel received a standard load for a diagonal.

And when one edge of the attack limps, inevitably increases the load on the other - in the fourth zone, especially in situations with low-quality fine-tuning. And this is where we had our biggest problems.. Finishers are focused on fast play, but it is effective, when the opponent's block breaks on this boost. If there is no constant threat from the diagonal, yes, and the center of the grid can be thrown (no reception), blockers advance closer to the "four". As a result, fast transfers did not fulfill their function., driving the players under the double, and even a triple block, in extremely difficult conditions. The effectiveness of the attack from the fourth zone was very modest, – but it was our main tool in the attack.

hope, that with the appearance of Matej Muzaj and the recovery of Sergei Pirainen, the balance at the edges of the grid will be restored, and breathe in the fourth zone will become freer. To play effectively in attack, you need a constant threat of three or four points., with us, it often comes down to two, and even one. The individual skill of our players today is, which does not allow them to consistently "click" complex puzzles, showing leadership on the court. Although the general psychological stability, especially at the end, noticeably strengthened, as well as gaming discipline in general.

But the progress in the "block protection" component definitely pleased. We won a block from Yekaterinburg 17:6, at Tyumen - 14:5, near Kemerovo - 15:13, near Novokuibyshevsk - 21:12! And only in the optional game with Magnitogorsk did it end in a draw, 7:7. Besides, significantly increased the percentage of ball rebounds after softening the block, discounts, increased the total number of replays. it, properly, and there is the same general game, basis, to which it remains to “screw” the aggressive serve and attack, bring to automatism certain game bundles.

Volleyball is a team game, and the team is a complex mechanism. We watch it set up, and it inspires a certain optimism before the start of the championship. With that condition, that progress will continue.