Zenit-Kazan vs. Dynamo | HIGHLIGHTS | Gold Match (1st Game) | SuperLeague 2025-2026

Dynamo made the first serious breakthrough in this match. Pavel Pankov's serves made it difficult for the opponent to organize attacks, and they made mistakes: Mikhail Labinsky hit an out, and Dmitry Volkov was blocked by Dmitry Zhuk (9:6). At this point, Zenit's head coach Alexey Verbov took his first timeout. The second timeout was needed when Maxim Sapozhkov hit an eйс with a cannon serve - 14:9. The Muscovites were more confident in scoring points in attack, and as a result, they did not allow the Kazan team to catch up with them in the score. In addition, Zenit did not make a single block throughout the entire game.

In the second set, the teams were tied for a long time, and then Dynamo's serve took off. Sapozhkov's serve was so powerful that Santiago Danani couldn't handle the ball, resulting in a 13-10 lead. Soon after, Denis Bogdan's serve against Volkov led to a 16-11 lead for Ilya Vlasov. The Kazan team struggled to stop Bogdan's attacks. When Konstantin Abaev and Maxim Mikhailov failed to understand each other's attacks, and the deficit reached -6, the Zenit coaching staff decided to make two substitutions. With Mikhail Vyshnikov and Drazen Luburić, the Kazan team narrowed the gap (19:21), but could not catch up with the opponent. A mistake by Labinsky in the attack sent the teams to the break.

Zenit started the third set very well. Labinsky hit an ace, and Mikhailov scored after his own defense – 4:0. Mikhailov scored another difficult ball, but Semyshev hit an out after a timeout – 8:2 in favor of Kazan. Konstantin Bryansky, the coach of Dynamo, gave his main setter, Pavel Pankov, a short break, but the Kazan players continued their success. Labinsky blocked Bogdan, and Romanovsky stopped Sapozhkov’s attack – 11:4. In the end, Romanovsky's crazy serve took off, and with two aces, he brought the score to a crushing 22:12.

The Kazan team continued in the same vein in the fourth set. Romanovsky once again blocked Sapozhkov, and Volkov intercepted the passing ball after a mistake by Evgeny Baranov, the libero, who failed to handle Artem Volvich's serve (5:1). Sapozhkov brought Dynamo back into the game with two consecutive aces, narrowing the gap to a minimum (5:6). After Volkov's mistake in the attack, the Muscovites took the lead with a break, and after Dmitry Zhuk's ace, they consolidated their lead – 21:18. At 20:23, it seemed impossible for Zenit to save the match, but Bogdan's mistake on serve was the first step. Romanovsky immediately hit an ace, and then Sapozhkov and Semyshev made mistakes in the attack, leading to a 24:23 advantage for Zenit! In the next rally, Mikhailov blocked Semyshev, resulting in a 25:23 score!

In the tie-break, after Baranov's unsuccessful reception and Sapozhkov's hit into the out, the Kazan team took the lead for the first time, 11:10. After Dynamo's timeout, Abaev hit the net, while Konstantin Tyushkevich successfully replaced the Moscow team and immediately hit Volkov with an ace. In the next rally, Volvich hit into the out, resulting in a 11:13 lead. For a short game, this was a significant advantage that the Canadians were unable to overcome.

VFV - volley.ru