Russian Cup in Surgut: ten games on Oil and Gas Worker Day!

"Gazprom-Ugra" (Surgut): Kirillov – Papazov, Kurbatov – Fedorov, Masko – Skvortsov, Vishnevetsky/Kirillov

MSTU (Moscow): Khaibulov – Zubov, Getman – Gonenko, Purine – Piskarev, Dragunov, Iskhakov

If Lermontov’s “Borodino” “horses mixed together”, People", then in the reporting match many circumstances mixed together: fatigue, testing out an opponent on the eve of a championship match, desire to hide something, but also to win for psychological confidence. These contradictions literally tore the rivals apart - it seems, that teams caused greater point damage to themselves, than the opponent.

In the first set, mistakes prevented the team from scoring points in series., as a result - an equal game until the end. After sections 23:23 Ilya Kirillov played excellent defense, but for some reason Dmitry Kurbatov decided to make contact with the net. And then Ivan Skvortsov, the entire set unsuccessfully throwing balls, hit this very net, 23:25.

In the second game, Georgy Serov appeared on the court instead of Skvortsov, which did not really affect the quality of the attack from the fourth zone. The opponents again do not let each other go further than one ball, and again we make mistakes at the wrong time, and again touching the grid on the block, 21:23. Maxim Purin puts an end to it with an ace, 22:25.

Already in the debut of the third game, the Surgutians had their teeth in their hands: Masko created a block on Zubov, and Fedorov scored a passing goal, thanking for excellent actions in defense of Vishnevetsky, 3:0. But then the young blocker, out of great desire, gives the freeball to his opponent, 4:3. Everything is back on balance up to the mark 10:9. Papazov scores, Masko earns a point with a serve, Teeth slams into the block, 13:9.

And then came Serov’s benefit performance: he puts the ball into the field via video review, he goes to serve and makes four breaks, three of which with ace – 20:12. Then we could easily finish the game in a draw (5:5) and take the set (25:17).

In the fourth game, the fatigue of the MSTU players became visually noticeable. Piskarev and Purin got hooked, and the score after Kurbatov’s block became his counterpart 9:3. Pozdnyakov appeared instead of Purin, instead of Khaibulova – Kazbanov, Piskarev was measured by Bestuzhev, but the residents of Surgut continued to reap the fruits of fatigue - this time Zubova, and Pozdnyakov’s unpreparedness, Kirillov, who threw away the glider, 15:7.

From about this point, elements of “Dolce Vita” began to appear in the game of the Surgut residents, who decided, that MSTU itself will complete the work. Generally, there was a certain logic in this, but not volleyball - the opponent perked up and began to “eat away” the gap. Zubov is back, and our fourth zone is frozen, and Papazov made a rare mistake, without putting the ball in line, 19:17. Serov organized a freeball with a serve - Masko blocked, 20:18. Zubov wraps the ball under the skin on a triple block, 21:19. Intrigue? Not, finished: Papazov is good, Teeth in a block, and again Papazov decides, 25:19.

In the tie-break, a wonderful Papazov. at level 3:5 he scores an emergency ball and delivers a series of killer serves with two aces, Gazprom-Yugra gets the rest block by piece, 9:5. Vitaly hits one ace from the left side of the court, the second one is already on the right. And before the series, he shows his last year’s partner in Nova, Grigory Dragunov, with gestures, what will be served in it, and that he will definitely throw the ball into the stands. And that’s practically what happened!

After Kazbanov first unsuccessfully folded in one formation, and then screwed up with the transfer, account became 11:6 and everything seems clear. But the Surgut residents relaxed again in time and revived the intrigue, even driving 14:10. We must pay tribute to Nikolai Zubov, who gave all the money, and during a failed reception we first hit the block with Masko’s hand, and then they completely missed the ace, 14:13. Saved once again by Papazov, dropped out on second try, 15:13.

Vitaly Papazov became the hero of the match, won 30 points (3 Ace) with attack efficiency in 52%. You can also note the young blocker Mikhail Fedorov, who built 5 covers (Rafael Khabibullin tried to turn the tide 12 points, 1 ace), from his partner Dmitry Kurbatov 11 points, 70% on the attack and 4 block. As part of MSTU 21 Piskarev and Zubov added the point to their battle account, attacking with equal effectiveness in 49%. The residents of Surgut finally won the block in a landslide (17:8) and scored more aces (9:4).

In general, the aftertaste is contradictory. One side, victory is always good, there are some bright spots in the game. However, there are many rough edges, stumbling out of the blue. I really hope, that this is growing pains and in three days Gazprom-Yugra will be able to grow a little more. Regarding MSTU, it seemed, that the team either really got seriously hooked physically after two sets in the third match in a row, or it gets dark on the eve of the meeting with the Surgut team in the championship next Wednesday.

Trainer VK MSTU (Moscow) Mikhail Beketov:

“The game was interesting. We will repeat it in a couple of days, everything will be more fundamental there, more interesting, the heat will be higher. While we are playing with differences, preseason – everything can be attributed to this. Yet again, I spoke: people come out of their little traumas and get a lot of work at once, quite they are, probably, not ready yet. Will hope, that in two days everything will be much more interesting".

Senior trainer of VC Gazprom-Yugra Alexey Rudakov:

“Volleyball is made up of little things.: made unnecessary mistakes, it's not time yet. Instead of, to get away, made mistakes and allowed the opponent to get closer. If we remove these errors, our game will be much better. Well done guys, showed character, desire, the motivation to show themselves in front of their audience helped them get back into the game. Character is important for the formation of a team. Every game gives you food for thought, we'll get together, we'll analyze everything and, hope, We will meet the MSTU team in the best conditions 4 September".

Final player of VC Gazprom-Yugra Artem Masko:

“The match went with varying degrees of success. There were a large number of mistakes in the first two games, who didn't let us win. However, the score was still close, 25:23, 25:22, everything is in the fight. But then we got together, adjusted a little to suit the opponent, and the game went easier. MSTU is a team with fairly good physical data, the guys are jumpy, athletic, but also play good defense, catch the balls. I think, they will force the fight on their opponents. It’s important for us to beat them, to feel confident in your abilities".

Gazprom-Yugra (Surgut) 3: 2 MSTU (Moscow)

match stats

Details

Date	Time	Championship
01.09.2024	19:00	KR 2024

Results

Team	1	2	3	4	5	GENERAL.
Gazprom-Yugra (Surgut)	23	22	25	25	15	3
MSTU (Moscow)	25	25	18	19	13	2

Venue

g. Surgut / SC "Premier Arena"

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

MSTU (Moscow)

1	2	3	4	5	S	K	E	FACING	B	PTS
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

In the first match of the day, as part of the freshly baked Dynamo derby and the fight for first place in the group, the Ufa and Sosnovoborets team performed swing rides with a wide amplitude. The first two sets were mirrored: At first Dynamo-LO demonstrated superiority (25:22), then Dynamo-Ural responded in kind (19:25). In a more equal third game, the Ufa team managed to get the better of the endgame (from 21:20 on 25:21), but in the fourth, “Dynamo-LO” again turned everything upside down, confidently increasing the advantage in the middle of the set, largely thanks to a series of serves by Denis Biryukov with two aces (from 7:7 on 16:9 and 25:18).

The fifth set was the quintessence of the match. Andrey Surmachevsky's innings series, which began with an ace and ended with finish-outs from Potaluk and Savin (11:8) seems to have provided the Ufa residents with comfort in the end. But Litvinenko withdrew and responded with his ace (12:11), and then it was Potaluk’s turn to make mistakes: supply to the network and discount to the block, 13:13. At the most necessary moment, Biryukov performed his signature outgoing serve at the junction of the first and second zones - Chanchikov missed, 13:14. On match point, Sergei Savin hit the block, 13:15.

At Dynamo-LO the team was dragged by captain Denis Biryukov - 25 points, including 5 on the block and 4 Ace, 47% positive in reception. At Dynamo-Ural the load fell more evenly, Savin, Surmachevsky, Krsmanovic and Potaljuk made approximately equal contributions, whom, however, still a little short.

Coach of VC Dynamo-LO Anton Astashenkov:

“The game was very nervous, well, that everything was decided this way. I'll say one thing: everyone was there for each other. The previous two games didn't go quite smoothly either., playing continues. Everyone helps each other, the team always emerges through difficulties. We won through patience, through that, that we always fought to the end, held the serve, the block worked, a lot has happened, which ultimately led to victory".

Senior coach of VC Dynamo-Ural Anton Malyshev:

“Volleyball is a game of emotions, character. They faltered themselves, made a couple of ridiculous mistakes - that’s the whole difference. The opponent's nerves turned out to be stronger, that's all. We're almost at 50 percent team updated, we find connections and, basically, quite successfully".

Dynamo-Ural (Ufa) 2: 3 Dinamo-LO (Linen. region.)

match stats

Details

Date	Time
01.09.2024	16:00

Results

Team	1	2	3	4	5	GENERAL.
Dynamo-Ural (Ufa)	22	25	25	18	13	2
Dinamo-LO (Linen. region.)	25	19	21	25	15	3

Dynamo-Ural (Ufa)

1	2	3	4	5	S	K	E	FACING	B	PTS
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Dinamo-LO (Linen. region.)

1	2	3	4	5	S	K	E	FACING	B	PTS
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0