Zenit KAZAN
This time Zenit edged Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK (25-10, 25-16, and 34-32) thereby delighting some 4’500 fans that were in attendance at “St. Petersburg” sports hall.
Zenit started its run with a splendid 8:2 break contributed by Evgeny Sivozhelez who scored also a couple of aces. Even though setter Valerio Vermiglio opted quite rarely for Maxim Mikhaylov, still the Russian side could gradually but confidently widen its lead (17:6) especially via the very solid performance displayed in attack by Yury Berezhko. Hypo Tirol evidently struggled in reception and that opening set was eventually sealed with the terrific score of 25-10.
Set two started with a very tight battle but gradually Zenit got control of the operations, once more exploiting the very weak performance of Hypo Tirol in reception. Sivozhelez bombed the Austrian defense line with his serve and the score quickly moved from 13:11 to 18:11 and even the best scorer of the guests, Ronald Jimenez, could not do much to stop the Russian express (25-16).
Head coach Vladimir Alekno opted for some substitutes in set 3 but still the blocks of Nikolay Apalikov were enough to claim a reassuring margin (20:15). However, Jimenez hit back for Hypo Tirol and the guests could eventually even the score at 24 all. The Austrian fought like real lions and some more ties followed before Mikhaylov and Berezhko could finish it off with the incredible score of 34-32.
“We started very well and our block was very effective. Our opponents rarely had the chance to spike against a single block but in the third set we were responsible for creating us problems, as we thought the match had already ended or would finish by itself” said assistant coach Alexander Serebrennikov.
For more volleyball news from the Champions League – Men click here
