All for volleyball on Friday!
23 February Gazprom-Yugra hosts Ugra-Samotlor at the Premier Arena. Meetings between neighbors are usually called Ugra derby, and a derby is when principled rivals fight to the bone, regardless of the tournament position and other situations. That's pretty much how it will be. Last place in the standings in this case means literally nothing, “Samotlor” is not the Minsk “Builder” of last season. The team has its own identity, there is a desire, there are opportunities. To take yours at home plate, our guys will have to give it their all, however, as in all other championship matches.
But still about tournament layouts: Gazprom-Yugra is in the race for the playoffs, and given the difficult calendar at the finish line, we need to stock up on victories right now. Ugra-Samotlor has a struggle for survival ahead, which also counts every victory. The team will arrive in Surgut with a bus of its fans and the appropriate attitude. Therefore, an immediate introduction for Surgut residents is to come to the game and “drown” the guests with the support of their team! We are always friends with Vartovsk, but let's leave hospitality for a while after the game.
At Ugra-Samotlor, unlike Gazprom-Yugra, everyone is in order. Central blocker Stanislav Kassel, who was eliminated earlier in the round, recovered and made three blocks in the last game against Yenisei, His partner is Mikhail Kulygin. Alexander Militsiy and Sergei Kostrov played against Enisey in the final game, but there is also Nikita Aksyutin, and Anatoly Volodin, freshly arrived to help from Tyumen. The binders of Vartov residents are experience and youth, Sergey Bagrey and Denis Tolok, in the diagonal, Mikhail Nikkel and Gleb Radchenko have good interchangeability, libero pair - German Mellis and Danil Davletshin.
The problems of Surgut residents are known: Petar Krsmanovic does not play, unknown, Will Ivan Korotaev recover?. Nevertheless, Even without these fighters, Gazprom-Yugra has been showing good volleyball in recent matches and has the right to count on success at home. Now we need to forget the history of the Ugra derby, forget about the victory in Nizhnevartovsk in the first round, find the keys to the tenacious game of Vartovo residents here and now. According to the classics, a powerful serve is needed, depriving the opponent of the prepared game and, in turn, a reliable technique for the variability of your own actions. The Surgut team also has rotation in all lines and the ability to change the pattern of the game during the match depending on the circumstances. The match will be difficult psychologically, so it’s important to loosen up and show your level of skill in all elements. There will be no fuss and unforced marriage - there will be no problems. We are playing at home and must come from a position of strength., and the fans are simply obliged to help the team and provide strong support! All for volleyball on Friday!
