Nova-Novokuybishevsk
The penultimate round of Superliga regular season made one change in the standings when it comes to the teams that are in contention for the playoffs (top 8 teams). Actually, only one more place remained open for the playoffs and it is No.8. Two sides are in contention to claim it: Nova Novokuybishevsk and Ural Ufa.
Nova took advantage of Ural’s 3-0 defeat to Fakel Novy Urengoy, the 7th in a row in the league, and skipped them in the standings as they beat Lokomotiv Novosibirsk by a 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-20). The Bulgarian Todor Skrimov topped Nova with 22 points (3 aces). Cheslavs Sventitskis added 4 aces, while Belarusian Siarhei Busel contributed with 4 kill blocks. In Lokomotiv, who might fall to No.7 if they lose in the last round, Maksim Zhigalov scored 22 points. Artem Smolyar and Ilyas Kurkaev made 4 kill blocks apiece. So now, Nova are at No.8 (13-12; 32 points), squeezing Ural out of the playoff zone, to the ninth-place (12-13; 36 points).
Three teams tend to claim No.3, all scored wins worth three points, including the one who is currently settled at it, Dinamo Moscow. The other two are Fakel Novy Urengoy and Zenit Sankt-Peterburg, respectively.
By sweeping Dinamo-LO Leningradskaya oblast 3-0, the defending champions Zenit Kazan extended their winning streak to 8 games. They secured top-seed in the previous round.
To see complete results, stats, and standings, visit our RUS National Championship 2017/2018 / Male / Seniors page.
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