Zenit-Kazan vs. Lokomotiv | HIGHLIGHTS | SemiFinals (2nd Game) | SuperLeague 2025-2026

Artem Volvich, who replaced Alexey Kononov during the previous match, started this time. It was on his serves that Zenit broke away from the opponent: the Kazan team picked up two balls in defense, and Dmitry Volkov scored them in counterattacks – 6:3. The Kazan team increased their advantage thanks to two aces by Mikhail Labinsky (13:8) – Sergey Melkozerov and Fyodor Voronkov failed to handle the reception. Thanks to an unmistakable attack (65%), the Kazan team kept the difference, and in the end, Labinsky once again demonstrated his cannon-like serve, winning two passing balls – 23:16.

In the second set, a very intense struggle broke out on the court from the very first plays. The opponents kept shooting and did not let each other go. As soon as Labinsky made another ace (15:13), Lokomotiv coach Plamen Konstantinov immediately took a timeout, which helped. Dmitry Lyzik and Omar Kurbanov tied the score. Soon after, Lysik gave the Novosibirsk players a break advantage with a powerful serve to Santiago Danani – 19:17. Ilya Kazachenkov also improved his serve, and the visitors' block became more active. Ilyas Kurkaev closed down both Labinsky and Romanovsky. Kazachenkov closed the set with an ace – 25:18.

The guests continued to put serious pressure on the serve, forcing the Kazan players to take the ball. For example, Danani failed to handle Kurbanov's shot, resulting in a 5:8 score. However, the guests themselves performed well in the return, allowing Simeon Nikolov to play a lot of first-tempo games. This continued until Romanovsky blocked Kourkaev's attack and softened Lysik's shot, allowing Mikhailov to score a counterattack, resulting in a 14:12 score. After reaching a 19:19 score, both teams began to make a lot of mistakes. Especially the guests. Voronkov and Nikolov did not serve, and Kurbanov and Lyzik attacked into out. This helped the Kazan team to bring the game to victory.

In the middle of the fourth set, Mikhailov had a great series of accurate attacks, and Volkov scored a crazy ball after a super-long play, bringing the entire arena to its feet – 12:10. Labinsky's serve gave Zenit a setback, which Kononov converted – 18:15. It was a good lead for the end, but it quickly disappeared. Volkov made a mistake in the reception and then stepped up on the serve. Labinsky was blocked by Nikolov twice in a row – 21:22. Mikhailov also missed two consecutive attacks, after which the guests had set points. Mikhailov himself won one back – 25:25. Then Konstantin Abaev blocked Kurbanov, and Labinsky hit Voronkov with a powerful serve – 27:25.

VFV - volley.ru