While millions of people around the world were celebrating Christmas, six top Russian clubs could not expect any rest due to fighting for the national cup. The group round has passed without any significant surprises, however, the promotion of Dinamo Moscow (without Bartosz Kurek) at the expense of Gubernia Nizhny Novgorod is astonishing. The bunch of semifinalists was completed by Zenit Kazan, Lokomotiv Novosibirsk and Belogorie Belgorod.

 

The first day:

Pool A

Gubernia Nizhny Novgorod — Zenit Kazan 0:3 (15:25, 23:25, 15:25)

Gubernia: Ostapenko 2, Nikic 5, M.Esko 0, Savin 9, N.Pavlov 6, Lyamin 1, Petropavlov (L) and Dranishnikov (L), Egorov 0, Shulgin 1, O.Sychev 4, Tyurin 3

Zenit: Anderson 15, Apalikov 6, Vermiglio, Abrosimov 8, Sivozhelez 12, Mikhaylov 12, Babichev (L) and Demakov 1, Berezhko 2, Cheremisin 0, Kolodinskiy 0

Stats – points: 53:75, ace – 1:4, attack – 27:44, block – 3:7, positive reception. – 48%:49%, errors points – 20:22

 

Pool B

Belogorie Belgorod – Dinamo Krasnodar 3:1 (25:27, 26:24, 25:18, 26:24)

Belogorie: Makarov 2, Ilinkhy 17, Khanipov 2, Grozer 12, Khtey 1, Muserskiy 21, Ermakov (L) and Kosarev 1, Kuznetsov 6, Tetyukhin 0, Kampa 0, Zhigalov 2

Dinamo: Marlon Maraguti Yared 3, Conte 13, Chaus 10, Nosenko 20, Mochalov 17, Khoroshev 3, Yanutov (L) and Chervyakov 0, Khilchenko 1, Andrievskiy 0, S.Eremin 1, A.Botin 0

Stats: Points – 102:93, ace – 2:6, attack – 56:53, Block – 14:9, positive reception – 53%:56%, errors points – 25:30

 

The second day:

Pool A

Dinamo Moscow – Gubernia Nizhny Novgorod 3:1 (22:25, 25:15, 25:22, 25:23)

Dinamo: Grankin 6, Veres 25, Shcherbinin 9, Kruglov 12, Markin 16, Krivets 8, Bragin (L) and Bezrukov 0, Boldyrev 3

Gubernia: Esko 0, Nikic 19, Ostapenko 6, Pavlov 11, Savin 3, Sychev 5, Petropavlov (L) and Egorov 8, Shulgin 0, Tyurin 2, Leonenko 1, Lyamin 5

Stats: Points – 97:85, ace – 4:1, attack – 63:49, block – 12:13, positive reception. – 59%:48%, errors points – 22:18

 

Pool B

Lokomotiv Novosibirsk – Dinamo Krasnodar 3:1 (20:25, 27:25, 25:19, 25:19)

Lokomotiv: Butko 2, Divis 6, Gutsalyuk 5, Nilsson 20, Biryukov 16, Volvich 9, Golubev (L) and Zubkov 3, F.Voronkov 0, Zhilin 10, Choulepov 0

Dinamo: Marlon 4, Mochalov 19, Chaus 5, Nosenko 22, Eremin 7, Khoroshev 9, Yanutov (L) and Khilchenko 0, Andrievskiy 0, Zelenko (L), A.Botin 1

Stats: Points – 97:88, ace – 9:4, attacks – 51:52, blocks – 11:11, positive reception. – 54%:46%, errors points – 21:26

The third day:

Pool A

Dynamo Moscow – Zenit Kazan 1:3 (28:30, 16:25, 25:21, 22:25)

Dynamo: Shadilov 11, Markin 4, Shcherbinin 5, Bezrukov 2, Boldyrev 20, Krivets 2, Stepanian (l) and Kruglov 2, Grankin, Afinogienov 5, Nikitin 6, Haritonov 8

Zenit: Apalikov 12, Vermiglio 4, Sivozhelez 16, Berezkho (14), Abrosimov 14, Mikhaylov 7, Babichev (l) and Demakov, Czeremisin 13, Kolodinsky

 

Pool B

Belogorie Belgorod – Lokomotiv Novosibirsk 3:1 (22:25, 25:17, 29:27, 25:20)

Belogorie: Makarov 1, Kuzniecov 6, Grozer 11, Fomenko 15, Muserskiy 16, Ilinych 13, Jermakov (l) and Jeremin (l), Kosarev, Khtey 1, Tietiuchin, Zhigalov 7

Lokomotiv: Diviš 9, Nilsson 20, Volvich 10, Biryukov 9, Butko 1, Gutsalyuk 10, Golubiew (l) and Zubkov, Voronkov 3, Zhilin 2, Shulepov 2

 

Standings:

Pool A

Zenit Kazan 6 Q

Dinamo Moscow 3 Q

Gubernia Nizhny Novgorod 0

Pool B

Belogorie Belgorod 6 Q

Lokomotiv Novosibirsk 3 Q

Dinamo Krasnodar 0

 

Semifinals schedule:

Zenit Kazan – Lokomotiv Novosibirsk (13.30, December 28th)

Belgorie Belgorod – Dinamo Moscow (16.00, December 28th)