Kuzbass vs. Zenit | HIGHLIGHTS | 30 Round | SuperLeague 2025-2026

The hosts appeared on the court in their usual lineup. Zenit's starting lineup included Igor Tisevich, Vladislav Babkevich, Roman Pakshin, Maxim Bocharov, Vitaly Dikarev, Andrey Ananyev, and Vladimir Shishkin.

The guests started the match better, with Zenit players making fewer mistakes – 5:2. Kuzbass's Ivan Piskarev was reliable in the attack (9:6), but the hosts' own mistakes prevented them from getting closer to the opponent – 7:11. Kuzbass had a good reception (41% positive reception), unlike their opponent (29%), but they had problems with attack execution – 50% for Kuzbass and 80% for Zenit. Maxim Bocharov scored important break points, but he couldn't handle Timofey Tikhonov's serve, resulting in a 20-16 score. Kirill Ionov stopped the top scorer of the Super League, and in the next rally, Babkevich regained the lead from the blocking players, resulting in a 21-17 score. In the final moments of the set, Yulmukhametov made a mistake in an attack, and Bocharov converted a break point to win the set, resulting in a 25-18 score.

After Babkevich's ace at the start of the second set, the score was 3:1 in favor of the guests. Bocharov and Roman Pakshin picked up the momentum of Zenit's diagonal player, while Egor Sidenko became the main offensive option for the Kemerovo team, resulting in a score of 13:15. Due to mistakes on the serve, it was impossible to reduce the gap. Babkevich excelled on the block, stopping Tikhonov, while Piskarev struggled with Dikarev's serve, resulting in a score of 14:20. In the end of the set, Zenit's double block was closed by Sidenko, and Bocharov ended the set with a pip – 25:17.

Piskarev failed to handle Bocharov's serve and lost his place on the court to Ilya Morzov - 4:6. Pakshin converted a breakaway and led Zenit +3, but mistakes on the serve prevented them from increasing their lead - 9:7. Pakshin failed to handle Morozov's serve, and Sidenko's powerful attack tied the game - 14:14. Babkevich scored in the overtime, and Igor Tisevich hit an ace - 16:14. Alexander Kochenov came on to the court instead of Tikhonov and reduced the gap to a minimum – 17:18. Kuzbass' triple block stopped Pakshin and Vladimir Alekno took the first time-out in this meeting – 21:22. The mistakes of the Kemerovans at the end of the set when they entered the ball into the game became fatal – 22:25.

VFV - volley.ru