We need to bring quality back
"Zenith" (St. Petersburg): Kobzar - Race, Yakovlev – Ananyev, Babkevich – Titich, Krivitchenko/Grebennikov
"Gazprom-Ugra" (Surgut): Ozhiganov – Rudnev, Shakhbanmirzaev – Shevlyakov, Rodichev – Krasikov, Nagaec
The hosts came out with Babkevich in the final game, and we had Rajab start in the position of central blocker - to give way to Dmitry Kurbatov after serving. However, all the tactical tricks of the first set were destroyed by the enchanting marriage of the opponents when the ball was put into play. Gazprom-Yugra first took on the dubious leadership, six mistakes by the middle of the set, but the owners caught up, issuing the final 10 (we 9).
In the same middle of the set, Yakovlev earned his 500th block on Krasikov for Zenit, and his series of serves against the problematic Surgut team formed a comfortable lead - 13:18. Kurbatov corrected the situation with an ace (17:20), Titich added fuel to the competition with a shot into touch from the baseline, 19:21. Ours immediately had another excellent pre-game chance, but their implementation was difficult today: Rudnev did not beat the rope, trying to circle the block, 19:22. The owners helped: Babkevich pulled the outgoing ball into the antenna, and Zheleznyakov, who came on as part of a double substitution, threw the ball into touch, 21:23. The exchange of a new portion of errors between the diagonals brought the opponents into balance, 24:24, there was a protracted ending with a lot of non-serves and strong-willed decisions at the edges of the net.
Rajab returned to serve instead of Kurbatov, Yes, he remained on the court due to the substitution limit and even scored with the first tempo behind Ozhiganov’s head, 32:32. This was the last success of the Surgut residents: Babkevich decided with a discount on the second attempt in the fourth zone (Krasikov picked up the first blow in defense), and then Krasikov failed to cope with Ananyev’s serve and Yakovlev scored the passing ball, 32:34.
In the second game, Babkevich moved to the diagonal, and in the final game, Zenit got Voronkov and Sivozhelez. Ozhiganov immediately went through the center, and when Shevlyakov was captured, moved the emphasis to the edges - but didn’t find quality there, but the attackers found an organized block. The Surgut residents’ own marriage continued to provide points for the owners: ace Yakovlev, Rodychev's patronage at the pipe, 5:11.
Slobodyanyuk came out instead of Krasikov and received a shortened serve from Kovalev, 6:14. Our reception was overwhelming, filming has become a huge problem. The double replacement in the persons of Kirillov and Alekseev did not change the picture. Sivozhelez “helped” a little in the fourth zone, trying to get out of tight gears, 11:19. At the end of the day, Alekseev and Slobodyanyuk played two set points, but Skvortsov, who came out instead of Rodichev, did not delay, filed in the grid, 17:25.
In the third game at Zenit, Safonov, who had replaced Yakovlev the day before, remained on the court, we still have Kirillov to pass and attack – Slobodyanyuk. The Surgut team continued to persistently make mistakes on serve, but stayed a little ahead (10:7) due to the individual skill of Rodichev and the sporting arrogance of Slobodyanyuk. But the situation turns around in a few minutes: Kurbatov once again does not serve, Rudnev gets stuck in the block, Slobodyanyuk sends the ball into touch, Babkevich attacks without blocking after a timeout, 10:11.
Zenit are also not blameless – Kovalev doesn’t find the striker with a pass, but we “cope” with this too: Kirillov passes the freeball to Shevlyakov below the waterline, hit the cable, 13:14... Rudnev knocks Grebennikov out of the move - Kurbatov does not score on the next freeball ... True, corrected immediately, closing the pipe block performed by Voronkov, 17:17.
We have Ozhiganov and Radzhab at the end, at Zenit Kobzar replaces Kovalev. Ozhiganov again tightens the center of the net, but Rajab gives it away terribly. While the diagonal was taking aim, Voronkov hit an ace, 20:22. Rajab is filming, and Babkevich knocks on the block on the net ball, 22:22. Intrigue? Kobzar brings Titich to a single block, and Rodichev has to deal with organized formations, 22:24. Rajab decides again, Surgut residents are playing reverse double substitution, Zenit takes a time out, and it all ends with an attack by a productive attack by Titich from the four, 23:25.
Four days later we will play the first match of the qualifying round of the playoffs with Zenit in Surgut. If the task was to immediately “shoot” the entire limit of errors and confuse the opponent before the decisive matches, then we managed to the fullest. the main thing, don’t get confused yourself and don’t forget to return quality to the site. However, and Zenit obviously didn’t play for all the money, so at the Premier Arena, I suspect, we will see a completely different volleyball.
3 : 0 
Gazprom-Yugra (Surgut)Details
| Date | Time | Championship |
|---|---|---|
| 17.03.2024 | 19:00 | CR 2023-2024 |
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | GENERAL. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenith (St. Petersburg) | 34 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Gazprom-Yugra (Surgut) | 32 | 17 | 23 | 0 |
Zenith (St. Petersburg)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | S | K | E | FACING | B | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gazprom-Yugra (Surgut)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | S | K | E | FACING | B | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
