Zenit-Kazan were successful at the beginning of the Final Six tournament for the title in the 2021/22 Russian Men’s Volleyball Championship.
Defeating Belogorie in four sets in Group A, Zenit-Kazan opened Final Six, a not-so-often seen format in national championships to determine the league champions, of the 2021/22 Men’s Superliga Paribet (Суперлига Парибет Мужчины), which they host, on the right foot. Tatarstan giants earned a direct qualification to the tournament due to winning the regular season, while their old adversaries, ’The Lions’, did so through the playoff round. The Kazan side dominated the rivals in blocking (16 points from this segment) with Aleksandr Volkov being especially in the mood by making 5 of them. The opposite hitter on the winning side, Maksim Mikhailov, was the top scorer of the match with 17 points. Zenit-Kazan will end the group stage of the Final Six with a match against the reigning champions Dinamo Moscow.
In the other match of Day 1, Lokomotiv downed Dinamo-LO in Group B in four sets as well, but with the third lasting for as many as 44 minutes (35-33). Canadian John Gordon Perrin and Ilyas Kurkaev tallied 19 points each for the Novosibirsk side, who’ll close the group stage with the encounter against Zenit Saint-Petersburg.
2021/22 Men’s Superliga Paribet, Final Six – Day 1:
