In the Spartakiad, a women’s volleyball tournament organized by the Russian federation to compensate for the lack of international matches due to FIVB’s disqualification, their national team suffered a defeat at the start.
The opening day of the Spartakiad, the women’s event that the Russian federation (VFV) organized to cover at least in part the void opened by the exclusion of their national teams from international competitions, following the outbreak of the conflict with Ukraine, was eagerly expected by the fans in the country. That’s due to the fact that a renowned Serbian expert Zoran Terzić was to make his debut as the head coach of ’Zbornaya’. For the team of the Serbian coach, which mainly consists of players from foreign clubs and competes in the Spartakiad under the name of Sirius, came a 2-3 defeat to Dinamo Moscow, the last Superliga bronze medalists. With the young phenomenon Arina Fedorovtseva (21 points) having the captain’s armband, Sirius opened the match with 2-0 in sets. Then the match changed its face as the club from Russia’s capital started to dominate on the block (19 points from this segment, 6 from Irina Fetisova) and won 3-2 (14-25, 14-25, 27-25, 25-18, 17-15). Irina Kapustkina top-scored Dinamo with 18 points.
The top seven of the 2021-22 Superliga, plus Russia NT, i.e. Sirius, compete in the Spartakiad, which is held in the cities of Kaliningrad and Tula.
Women’s Spartakiad – 1st round:
Dynamo Moscow – Russia National Team (Sirius) 3-2 (14-25, 14-25, 27-25, 25-18, 17-15)
Lokomotiv – Leningradka 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-16)
Dynamo-Ak Bars (Tatarstan) – Tulitsa 3:0 (25-8, 27-25, 25-21)
Proton – Uralochka 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-18)
