Lokomotiv vs. Yaroslavich | HIGHLIGHTS | 30 Round | SuperLeague 2025-2026

As part of the final round of the preliminary stage, the long-awaited return of the Belgian middle blocker Sam Dero in the team took place at the Lokomotiv Arena. The player not only made his first appearance in the roster after undergoing chemotherapy in December, but also immediately appeared in the starting lineup for Lokomotiv. In addition to Dero, the railway team had a full roster on the court, despite the fact that the standings for the teams would not have changed significantly after this round. Before the match started, the All-Russian Volleyball Federation also presented the First Height trophy to Lokomotiv-SHOR, which became the best team in the preliminary stage of the tournament for the fifth time and took first place in the standings before the final rounds.

In the first set, it was a close battle, with Dero gaining experience point by point, and Kazachenkov scoring his own balls. In Yaroslavich's lineup, Kutlunin and Mobin emerged as the leaders of the first set. By the end of the set, Plamen Konstantinov's team had gained a slight advantage, with a score of 21:18, and Nikolov sealed the victory with a score of 25:22.

In the second set, after a failed landing from Nikolov's block, Ozhiganov appeared on the Lokomotiv court, and later Radjab took the court. Yaroslavich's head coach, Valery Pyaskovsky, also made substitutions, introducing Bobrov and Shustrov into the game. Unlike the opening set, the Novosibirsk team immediately created a comfortable lead (16:10), but by the end of the set, the Yaroslavl team had caught up with the hosts and brought the game to a tense finish, with Lyzik's block securing the victory at 27:25.

To the delight of many Novosibirsk fans, Nikolov reappeared on the court in the third set, and Rajab continued to score points. Plamen Konstantinov also gave playing time to Markin and Kurbanov, and Vishnyakov and Brazhnyuk were able to play in the blocking line. Vylkov replaced Krivitchenko (Lokomotiv's main libero, Melkozerov, was not included in the match roster due to medical reasons). All the substitutions did not affect the course of the match – Yaroslavich could not find the thread of the game and resist the boisterous stands of Lokomotiv Arena – 16:14 and 21:17 in the third set for the railway workers. The match was ended by Rajab – 25:21 and a dry victory for Lokomotiv in the thirtieth and final round of the preliminary stage.

Lokomotiv's диагональный Раджаб и Ярославич's доигровщик Мобин Насримастанабад набрали по 11 очков.

VFV - volley.ru