Lokomotiv vs. Zenit | HIGHLIGHTS | 29 Round | SuperLeague 2025-2026

In the central match of the round at the Lokomotiv Arena in Novosibirsk, the fate of the third place in the standings was decided in a festive, spring-like atmosphere. The railway workers, led by Plamen Konstantinov, faced Vladimir Alekno's Zenit. After a dry defeat in the first round of the championship, the Novosibirsk team failed to draw conclusions, once again losing in three sets.

In the first set, the teams played evenly, with Kukayev and Yant recording an ace each – 7:7. By the middle of the set, Babkevich's serves gave the visitors the lead, and Lokomotiv replaced Kurbanov with Markin, while replacing Kazachenkov and Nikolov with a double substitution of Radjab and Vadim Ozhiganov – 10:15. Babkevich scored 8 of the 11 goals for Zenit, while Kosmin and Yant scored twice on the block. The railway team tried to fight back with substitutions, but they were unable to win the game back – 21:25.

In the second set, Kazachenkov (20% in attack after the first set) was replaced by Rajab. At the start of the new set, Lokomotiv looked confident and forced the guests to take a break – 9:6. Zenit quickly regained their composure – 12:12. The atmosphere at Lokomotiv Arena became tense, and the teams entered an equal finish. The hosts even had a set point, but they were inaccurate in their attack, and Zenit won the game 26-24, 2-0.

The third set gave the home fans hope for the fourth set, as Lokomotiv took the lead 13:11 on Nikolov's serves and Kourkaev's block, but the visitors immediately regained the lead. In crucial moments, Kobzar immediately passed the ball to Babkevich, while Voronkov and Kurbanov tried to lead Lokomotiv. Zenit were the first to reach matchballs, and Babkevich put an end to the match by coming back from the Novosibirsk triple block – 25:23. A dry victory for the team from St. Petersburg secured them the third place in the standings.

The most productive player of the match was Zenit's diagonal player Vladislav Babkevich, who scored 25 points.

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