Luxembourg, March 3, 2021. The teams of VC Greenyard MAASEIK and Zenit SAINT PETERSBURG delivered a real Volleyball thriller full of unexpected plot twists in the men's CEV Volleyball Cup 2021 semifinal at Steengoed Arena MAASEIK. VC Greenyard MAASEIK earned an emphatic straight-set win in the game, but as their first semifinal ended with a 3-1 victory of Zenit SAINT PETERSBURG, the Golden Set was required to determine the first finalist of the competition. The hosts claimed a 14-10 lead in that set but wasted as many as six match points, with Zenit fighting back with some powerful serves and Ivan Iakovlev sealing the eventual 18-16 win for the Russian side with an impressive single block.

VC Greenyard MAASEIK (BEL) vs Zenit SAINT PETERSBURG (RUS) 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-19) Golden Set 16-18

VC Greenyard MAASEIK opened the match a way better, reaching an early 7-4 lead and staying ahead for the first half of the set. Then, the game became tighter, as Zenit visibly improved their game with Ivan Podrebinkin being their strongest asset (6 points). The Russian club tied the score at 21-21, but after a fierce battle a first set point came for Maaseik. The Belgian club closed it blocking Egor Kliuka.

The team from Maaseik returned to the court with self-confidence starting the second set with a 5-1 lead. After a time-out called by coach Tuomas Sammelvuo, Zenit fought back, but only for a while, as Maaseik ran away with the score again, reaching a seven-point advantage at 16-9 and safely closed this part. Jelte Maan contributed with as many as six points in the second set.

In the third also it was again VC Greenyard MAASEIK taking control of the game. Having a solid lead already at 11-6, they were sparing no effort to win this set. Maan had a significant support in Jolan Cox, as they scored six points apiece. The hosts worked very well in block. Winning the third set, there was a bigger challenge coming as it was the Golden Set to determine the finalist. The performance of the hosts was especially impressive knowing that they had had to replace their injured setter Javad Karimi Souchelmaei with the only 19-year-old Liam McCluskey.

There was no room for mistakes in the Golden Set. Both teams were exchanging powerful hits and performing impressive blocks. From 9-9 Maaseik with great team efforts and impressive serves from substitute Amirhossein Esfandiar jumped to 14-10 and needed only one more point to seal their ticket to the final. But Zenit rose like a phoenix from the ashes, they saved in total six match points and eagerly seized the first chance to end this encounter with captain Ivan Iakovlev's single block.

Jelte Maan (Maaseik) topped the scorers' chart with 17 points. He was followed by his teammate Jolan Cox and Ivan Podrebinkin who tallied 16 points apiece, with these figures not counting the points scored during the Golden Set.

Jelte Maan, captain of VC Greenyard MAASEIK: “What can I say after such a game? We played very well until the last couple of points but in the money time things went wrong for us. This is the second time that I miss such a big opportunity in the Golden Set. Many years ago, we were on the brink of reaching the Final Four of the Champions League against Jastrzebski Wegiel. Back then, we lost 2-3 away from home, before winning 3-0 at home and losing the Golden Set 15-17. Now we miss the CEV Cup final in the same way, so that is obviously painful.”

Antoine Brizard, setter of Zenit SAINT PETERSBURG: “You can say this was a narrow escape. At 10-14 in the Golden Set, I gave us 1% chance to survive but we did not give up and we got the reward for it. It was a very tough game. Maaseik played better than we did in every possible way. Their reception was great and we got nervous because we are not used to this kind of Volleyball.  We did not find any solution until that 10-14. I guess they got a little nervous at that moment.”

Captain of Zenit Ivan Iakovlev performing a powerful spike