Russia - Superliga 2018/2019

    Quote from kyle7in1

    Another hot game in this round, Kuzbass 3:1 Zenit St. Petersburg.


    Cameho played bad with a 33% attacking. Not sure if he has recovered from injury. ZenitH's another OH sucked too. Only Groser was reliable. But it's not enough to win the game with only one good OPP. ZenitH's defense was off too. Kuzbass got some easy points by drop shots. The set 3 and set 4 were blowout for Kuzbass.

    Poletaev was the obvious MVP - virtually unstoppable throughout the match and finished the game with 22/35 as well as a couple of aces.

    Zenit-Kazan won Russia Super Cup by 3:1 Zenit St. Petersburg


    Cameho did not play. ZenitH has no chance with only Grozer. The 1st and 3rd set were blowout. Ngapet may be not as strong as Leon on offense end, but his defense was amazing with some great digs.


    I look forward to watching Kazan vs Perugia (if they meet) in CL this season.

    Zenit Kazan traveled to Novy Urengoy for a rescheduled match today from the 7th round. The two unbeaten teams meet in a re-match from the Club WCH.

    The hot match In the 7th round: Zenit Kazan 3:0 Fakel


    Kliuka did not play (no sure if he's injured) in this game. Bogdan and Volkov are starters. Fakel played well in the first two sets, but can not hold on at the end of each set. Then the 3rd set was a blowout. Fakel struggled with the reception through the game.


    Butko played bad in the 1st set, but back to normal in the 2nd and 3rd set. NGapeth's attacking was awful, but his reception and defense are solid as rock. Both Maxim and Matt played well with some nice serves.

    Quote from kyle7in1

    The hot match In the 7th round: Zenit Kazan 3:0 Fakel


    Kliuka did not play (no sure if he's injured) in this game. Bogdan and Volkov are starters. Fakel played well in the first two sets, but can not hold on at the end of each set. Then the 3rd set was a blowout. Fakel struggled with the reception through the game.


    Butko played bad in the 1st set, but back to normal in the 2nd and 3rd set. NGapeth's attacking was awful, but his reception and defense are solid as rock. Both Maxim and Matt played well with some nice serves.

    Alekno described the match as anti-volleyball. Both teams felt physically exhausted after the long trips and the Club WCH. Fakel's head coach Placi will undergo a surgery in Italy and was missing, Klyuka and Kolodinskiy, two of Fakel's key figures, were injured and were rested. So, despite the importance of the match, Fakel chose not to risk anything. Zenit admittedly didn't show the right mood either but seem to have won mostly due to more experience, available key players, and a consistent Maxim Mikhaylov. Fakel could've still won the first two sets, though, when they often had the advantage. Instead of a real fight, this game obviously didn't show anything remarkable and won't be really taken into account by either side.

    So Zenit Kazan wins two of the most important domestic cups in Russia. Supercup and Russian Cup.


    I hate to say this but I think they'll also win the regular season and the superleague as well.


    I predict St. Petersburg will have problems with their fitness in the playoffs. This is their best chance to win something this season and sad to say they probably missed the train.


    Kemerovo also have problems with their club fitness. Poletaev the usual victim in the playoffs. I want to see him help the team but they are totally nowhere near a top four team without the lefty.


    Only Fakel seems to be a worthy candidate to usurp the throne but as strong as Volkov and Kliuka as the greatest OH duo of Russia, I don't think they are properly supported at the back.


    Fakel also need to improve their serve potency to even dream of making the final in the playoffs and avoid any Volkov or Kliuka injury in the playoffs as an absence of one will significantly reduce their firepower.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


    #FreeBritney

    Ive read somwhere here that Matt Anderson is an overrated player but look how he plays today, those service run and aces and smooth reception against the bomb serve by Grozer, I can say that he is the complete OH in this hs generation...

    Quote from NABoruto

    Ive read somwhere here that Matt Anderson is an overrated player but look how he plays today, those service run and aces and smooth reception against the bomb serve by Grozer, I can say that he is the complete OH in this hs generation...

    He is an overrated OH though. It's one game and we've seen a lot from Anderson he's not the first or second option in Zenit Kazan. He's like Lanza but with serve and block and that's it Anything he adds to Zenit is a bonus if he plays a good offensive game however.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


    #FreeBritney

    Quote from Rains

    He is an overrated OH though. It's one game and we've seen a lot from Anderson he's not the first or second option in Zenit Kazan. He's like Lanza but with serve and block and that's it Anything he adds to Zenit is a bonus if he plays a good offensive game however.

    there are lots of games he simply just sucked and he never kills it when it depends on him. He can kill with %70 effieciency throughout the game and then his efficiency could be %0 in the tie break. He is an overrated player. He was promising youngster but he never turned out to be a great player. I don’t expect him to be any better either. US coach is very happy with their result, never making it to the final, he thinks it is a great achievement so Matt will never be pushed to be a great player. He knows he will be hired or invited to NT even he won’t do anything. And in Kazan, he always been the 3rd option in attack which didn’t help his devolopment in the past.

    It's said Sergey Shlyapnikov is no longer the coach of Russia NT. Who will be the new NT coach?

    Maybe they have to beg Vladimir Alekno again? I remembered Alekno said he won't coach NT in an interview before.



    QF


    Zenit-Kazan (1) vs (8) Ural Ufa

    Kuzbass Kemerovo (2) vs (7) Dinamo Moscow

    Zenit Saint Petersburg (3) vs (6) Lokomotiv Novosibirsk

    Fakel Novy Urengoy (4) vs (5) Belogorie Belgorod


    Statistics:


    Best Scorer: György Grozer (Zenit Saint Petersburg)

    Best Spiker: Maxim Mikhaylov (Zenit Kazan)

    Best Blocker: Alexander Abrosimov (Ural Ufa)

    Best Receiver: Denis Biryukov (Dinamo LO)

    Best Server: Nicolas Marechal (Yenisei Krasnoyarsk)


    The winner of two matches will qualify for the semifinals...


    March 30th or April 6th: First game

    April 14th: Second game

    April 17th: Third game (if it's necessary)


    About the 9-14 place, they will play two rounds...

    The first one will take place in Krasnoyarsk and the second one in Surgut... After this, the worst team will leave the first division (the best team of the second division will replace it)... 13th place will play some games against the second one of the SuperLeague "A" (second division) and the best team will be in the next edition...

    Kuzbass beat Petersburg in Game 2 and are into the Finals! But most importantly they manage to book their CL 2020 ticket!


    This might be the big break Poletaev is waiting, playing CL in Olympic year win-win for the club and NT :cheesy:

    Camejo is very disappointing this season. He got injured quite often. And Sivozhelez is always a loophole. How many games did Sivozhelez have a miserable attack like 20% or lower? That's no way he can help the team in semi final.

    Quote from kyle7in1

    Camejo is very disappointing this season. He got injured quite often. And Sivozhelez is always a loophole. How many games did Sivozhelez have a miserable attack like 20% or lower? That's no way he can help the team in semi final.

    I think Sivozhelez is required to stabilize the reception. Without him, Petersburg will fare worse as both Camejo and Divis are essentially non-passing OHs.

    Quote from inc0gnito

    I think Sivozhelez is required to stabilize the reception. Without him, Petersburg will fare worse as both Camejo and Divis are essentially non-passing OHs.

    As Russia league only allows two foreigners on court at the same time, the team don't have many choices to pick some good OH. Sivozhelez can not even be a starter in Italy league. I know he's there to help the reception, but he can not only be used as a libero. Otherwise, the team have a big trouble to rotate when he's on the front row.