CL M: There are no easy wins in Playoffs 6 – Belogorie push Zenit nearly to the limits

Zenit vs. Belogorie

It seems that festive atmosphere in the stands of a packed Kazan gymnasium before the match relaxed Zenit players too much since they achieved a hard-fought victory over rivals from their homeland Belogorie Belgorod whom they easily beat in the national league twice this season, 3-1 (25-14, 25-17, 23-25, 26-24).

Zenit organized acrobatic and 3D laser show, live performance of the brass band and fans’ contest for the prizes before and during the match, causing Belogorie players not to feel under much of a pressure from the stands. They took advantage of this in the third and in the most of the fourth set when they dropped a two-point lead in the finish. But, they allowed their fans to keep hopes for the rematch alive.

Zenit prevailed in attack (52% – 41%) and blocking (12-5), having the best scorer of the match, Maksim Mikhailov (20 points). Dmitriy Muserskiy had 16 for Belogorie.

The rematch is scheduled for April 13.

PLAYOFFS PHASE / PLAYOFFS 6 / 1st LEG

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