Zenit vs. Fakel Yamal | HIGHLIGHTS | 28 Round | SuperLeague 2025-2026

This game was Zenit's final home game of the regular season. The Fakel Yamal volleyball players came to St. Petersburg, having finished 9th in the standings after 27 rounds, while the St. Petersburg team was in third place. In the first-round match, which took place on December 14, the Novourengoy team won with a score of 3:1.

The confrontation between Zenit and Fakel Yamal is, first of all, a confrontation between the two best scorers in the Super League: Vladislav Babkevich (522 points and 1st place) and Yuri Romano (507 points and 2nd place). In advance, we note that the Petersburg diagonal player won this duel – 21 points at the end of the match against 17 for the Italian. Zenit's diagonal player scored the first ace of the match (9:6), after which Roman Empolov took advantage of the first break. At the end of the set, Vladislav performed better in the attack than his opponent, with a 42% attack rate compared to Yuri Romano's 29%. The Italian player also made two mistakes and two block hits. During the first set, the hosts gained a 7-point lead. The guests managed to catch up in the score, but the St. Petersburg team quickly regained a comfortable lead – 25:18 in favor of Zenit and 1:0 in the match. The blue-and-white team outperformed their opponents in attack (48% vs. 34%) and on the block (6:2), but lost in reception (41% vs. 57% for the guests).

In the second set, the guests played more aggressively, which paid off: 8:5 in favor of the Novourengo players at the start of the game. Towards the middle of the game, Vladimir Alekno's team not only leveled the deficit but also took the lead, with a score of 17:13. At 18:13, Roman Empolov attempted to revive the game with substitutions, but they did not work, resulting in a score of 25:16 and a 2:0 lead. In this game segment, Zenit once again outperformed their opponents on the block, with a score of 5:1, and in the attack, with a percentage of 52% compared to 38%.

In the third set, the guests were not inferior to Zenit in any way, resulting in a score of 21:21. However, the hosts came back with a strong block, leading to a 14:4 advantage for the blue-and-white-blue team. After a tie in the final set, only one team was able to score points, resulting in a 25:21 victory for the hosts and a 3:0 scoreline. Vladislav Babkevich was the most productive player for Zenit, scoring 21 points.

VFV - volley.ru