Unsettled: Belogorie examines Zenit before Club World Championship

Is Zenit already bored in Russia?

Before the face-to-face meeting, it seemed there were not any intrigues in the match of Kazan and Belgorod, the teams who had the toughest confrontation in Russian volleyball. The difference in the weight division of Zenit and Belogorie has been especially seen in this season.

The teams have never had such a margin not only in the standing but also in terms of the level of volleyball that the teams demonstrate. Obviously, the problem is not that Belogorie decided to reduce its financing like it often happens in Russian sport 'to set new tasks'. Here very Zenit-Kazan's irrevocable power is the reason. The Kazan players not only have won the three first battles but also have not lost any set in the games with Dynamo, Neftyanik and Ural.

Everything is clear in the Russian Championship. Here Zenit is keeping to the champion schedule at the moment and even better. Anyone will be able to change it in Superleague if a total epidemic of injuries starts in Kazan or there is some doubtful story like aliens who came to help the rivals of the Kazan players. Or Old Khottabych or another similar unexpected thing.

And the Club World Championship is still the only competition whose trophy has not been presented in Zenit's club museum. This is why for today's Zenit the Russian courts are a kind of training venue where the players can prepare and try experimental combinations, and León is able to enhance his cannon serves. However, the game with Belogorie showed that this mechanism used to produce victories has several cables whose troubles make the machine stall. And it is good that Belogorie was the last examiner of Zenit before the World Championship. The match gave Alekno enough work on his players' psychology.

Russian courts are a kind of training venue

Where was the linesman?

A cosy family atmosphere reigned in Saint Petersburg Volleyball Centre before the first serve. Zenit traditionally pleased its spectators with its next offer – the volleyball players of the best club of the world presented cuddly toys to the kids whom the club had invited. Probably for this reason, Saint Petersburg has fewer unoccupied seats.

Having presented the first point, Zenit started to 'play' with Wilfredo León's powerful serves. However, a debatable moment that took place at the beginning equalised the chances of the teams. When it seemed that the Cuban performed a direct shot and the score was 4-2, the referees watched the episode again and returned the point to Belgorod – 3-3. The Kazan players just went ahead and another debatable situation presented a point to the guests – 6-4. And here it became clear that the teams were playing without any linesman because two reviews before the break is an obvious fault of the assistant referees.

10:5 after the break somehow became 12-12. The game of Belogorie with a clear focus on Musersky allowed the guests to stay afloat and even have two points more before the second break. León started to get nervous, his shots were not so confident – 14-16. But +3 after the break put everything in order. A time out that Aleksander Kosarev took did not help.

Volvich and Mikhailov formed an unbreakable wall near the net, so that even Musersky was not able to be beneficial to his team, not to mention other outside hitters and central blockers of Belgorod. In this season the only thing that the guests managed to do was to impose the toughest set.

Volvich and Mikhailov formed an unbreakable wall

The end to 'clean sheet'

The Belgorod players wanted even more in the next set. Having taken the lead at the beginning of the set, the guests did not miss their chance and withstood till the end. Musersky's serves again helped the Belgorod players to have a 3-point excellence. If a serve was not direct, it was certainly due to be difficult for reception, and the Kazan played did not manage to perform their attack they had prepared well. What is more, Petr Poroshin and Tetyukhin closed the space near the net well. It resulted in the unexpected -5 (10-5), and it made Alekno take time out one more time. The guests and their confident supremacy made the spectators and the resting rest be on tenterhooks. León's serve made even Vladimir Alekno nervous. And at one moment he asked the player to come closer and told him off. Attempts to break the block of Kosarev's players were not successful, so Belogorie registered the first set that Zenit has lost in this season.

A tough fight that nobody expected continued in the third set too – 15-15 in the middle of the set. In the last stage Anderson did not look the person he was. But a new player Volvich participated in every attack. And it seemed the leaders were defeated by nerves. He made the team keep on its toes and charged other players with his actions. They managed to go ahead. When the score was 22-19, Sivozhelez appeared and gave a result after the first serve. And Butko won a victory in the set – 25-20.

León's serve made even Vladimir Alekno nervous

There are things to improve

León finally calmed down in the fourth set and got the interest that looked like his ordinary result a bit. His serves made the margin impossible — 17-9 after a time out, and Kosarev just had to observe how Zenit was coping with his guys.

Maksim Mikhailov was also generous with aces, he fired four.

Tetyukhin's young sub Yaroslav Podlesny performed several interesting serves and a couple of outside hits. Butko's shortened soft serves allowed the Belgorod players to receive them well and reduce the margin. But Sivozhelez who appeared on the court continued León's job. Zenit confidently pressed Belogorie and, all in all, got a decent exam before the trip to Brazil to the world championship. Vladimir Alekno has to note that there is a very strong dependence of the game of Zenit on its leaders' moods. Very Sada Cruzeiro won't forgive such nervous ups and downs of León and Anderson.