Luxembourg, March 17, 2021. In the all-Russian battle for the #CEVCupM gold, Dinamo MOSCOW survived in the first final match, after a five-sets thriller vs Zenit SAINT PETERSBURG. The Volleyball fans in sports hall Dynamo Volleyball Arena witnessed an exciting battle on the court, with many twists and turns. However, the players around head coach Konstantin Brianskii managed to claim the victory and make an important step ahead towards the Gold medals. The key to the success for the Moscow team in Wednesday’s match was the better performance on attack, with the Bulgarian star Tsvetan Sokolov recording 25 points to his name. Zenit, on the other hand, excelled on the block, finishing with 17 successful actions in this component. The decisive re-match between both teams will take place on March 25 in Saint Petersburg.
Dinamo MOSCOW (RUS) vs Zenit SAINT PETERSBURG (RUS) 3-2 (26 - 28, 25 - 18, 20 - 25, 26 - 24, 15 - 9)
A cat-and-mouse game marked the first minutes of the match with both teams trying to establish their rhythm of play. Neither Dinamo, nor Zenit were giving in, showing high levels of motivation, delivering some long rallies. Both sides were a little bit more stressed on the serve, thus recording some unforced errors. With the set unfolding, the host team started controlling the game with good performance on the block allowing them to take a small advantage. With the result standing at 18-13 for Dinamo, the head coach of Zenit Saint Petersburg Tuomas Sammelvuo tried to turn things around, asking for a timeout. It worked as Zenit got closer (20-18) and even equalised at 21-21 thanks to a strong service performance by Antoine Brizard. Sam Deroo with a strong attack in 4 helped Dinamo to take the lead again, but it wasn’t for long. Pankov’s error on the serve and then an error by Tsvetan Sokolov in attack, helped Zenit claim the opening set 28-26.
Zenit started slightly better in the second set but Dinamo put up some fight in the moments after. With Pankov on the serve, making it difficult for Zenit’s reception, the home team managed to take the lead. The players from Saint Petersburg reacted (9-9) but Dinamo maintained the level, remaining more concentrated in the decisive moments. Even though Zenit tried to tie again the score, the players coached by Konstantin Brianskii showed nerves of steel and grabbed the set.
Both teams were following each others in the result in the third set (11-11) but Zenit were better on taking their chances on the block (7 in the set). Brianskii took a timeout at 21-17 for Zenit, and Sokolov immediately scored. Podlesnykh of Dinamo performed well on the serve but it wasn’t enough and Zenit scored again. Ivan Iakovlev and Egor Kliuka were shining in these moments for Zenit (good on block and attack), and supported by some powerful action by Brizard, the visiting team took the set.
Dinamo were pushing hard on the attack in the beginning of the next set and took the lead at 11-8 with seven successful actions in this component. However, Zenit found their way back, and started breathing down Dinamo’s necks. They even equalised at 22-22. Sokolov for the Moscow team was giving it all on the court in these moments, and helped his team for tying the set-score.
Dinamo dominated in the tiebreak. Anton Semyshev on the serving made it quite difficult for Zenit in reception. Until the end of the match, Dinamo remained the better team and thanks to some powerful spikes in the middle, congratulated themselves with the victory.
Tuomas Sammelvuo, Zenit Saint Petersburg head coach: "It was a very emotional game. We had our chances in the fourth set, but didn’t use them. In the tie-break, we made several mistakes on the serve and then Dinamo won several points. We should work on becoming better on serve and reception."
Ivan Iakovlev, Zenit Saint Petersburg middle blocker: "It was a great game between two equally skilled teams. Yes, we lost, but we had our moments and we are positive about the next match. We will analyse this game and draw conclusions before the game at home."
Konstantin Brianskii, Dinamo Moscow head coach: "Our opponent played with great motivation. They are a great team with many players who are part of the Russian national team. We made too many mistakes in the first set, but then we came back. In the tie-break, we were better. During the game we showed a better performance on serve, in reception and in attack."
Pavel Pankov, Dinamo Moscow setter: "It was a close game but we want to thank our fans for the support, great atmosphere in the arena."
For more details, stats and photos, visit the CEV Volleyball Cev Cup 2021 - Men competition page.