DIAGRAM
The World Cup in Japan at the turn of the fall and winter of last year disappointed the fans of the national team, Zoran Gayich was worth the work, and he cut the domestic Russian season by half. The regular season began under the splendor of New Year's garlands, passed in one round and at times it looked like a lottery. As a result, the first ten teams fit into the three-point interval, distributing the final places only in the last round. Now the first eight will play the medals in the playoff series, which has retained its traditional orientation (opposing up to three victories), and the four losers will reveal a duet worthy to perform in the next season a lower class.
LEADER
Dynamo (Moscow)
Indicators in the regular season : 8 wins, 3 defeats - 1st place.
Opponent in 1/4 : Lokomotiv-Emerald (Yekaterinburg).
Summary "Sport today." Despite the randomness of the championship, it was not possible to hide the main thing - Dynamo is today the strongest in Russia. The star played line-up, a long bench, the acquired champion psychology leave the rivals with little hope. Dynamo effortlessly dealt with their main competitors and allowed themselves to lose only in passing matches - two out of three teams that eventually did not get into the playoffs. The only reason for concern could be the appointment of Vladimir Alekno to the post of head coach of the Russian national team, but he was still allowed to finalize with Dynamo until the end of the season.
Forecast: championship.
Applicants
Iskra (Odintsovo)
Indicators in the regular season : 8 wins, 3 defeats - 2nd place.
Opponent in 1/4 : Dynamo Amber (Kaliningrad).
Summary "Sport today." In the manner of the Iskra game, perhaps the most interesting team in Russia. A reliable reception, a solid block, a fast pace attack based on the telepathic mutual understanding of the attackers with binders and individual skills of Abramov, Beketov, Khtei. At their best, Odintsovo are almost unstoppable. The problem is that such a style is very sensitive to the mood of leaders and their physical form, while Sergei Tsvetnov has almost no alternatives. Iskra is still lacking in decisive matches and confidence, and without this it is unlikely that it will be possible to fulfill the dream.
Forecast: semifinal.
"Torch" (Novy Urengoy)
Indicators in the regular season : 6 wins, 5 losses - 5th place.
Opponent in 1/4 : ZSK-Gazprom (Surgut).
Summary "Sport today." Fakel is the country's oldest team. However, reaching the final of the Russian Cup and the recent victory in the EKV Cup literally shout that star veterans are still capable of much. New Urengoys play classic volleyball, based on the brilliant reception of Chernich and Klok, the wisdom of Ushakov, the striking power of Yakovlev. Enormous experience and stable team play against the backdrop of a psychological upsurge from a successful season allow the Fakel to think about global success. That's just the grid has developed so that in the semifinals he can’t miss each other with the Moscow Dynamo.
Forecast : semifinal.
Dynamo Tattransgaz (Kazan)
Indicators in the regular season : 7 wins, 4 defeats - 3rd place.
Opponent in 1/4 : Lokomotiv-Belogorye (Belgorod).
Summary "Sport today." By the will of fate, Kazan has never once revealed to the world all its megastars in one starting six. Sergei Tetyukhin recovered from knee surgery only in the last rounds - just when Clayton Stanley got injured, leaving Viktor Sidelnikov without a diagonal. Dynamo left the regular championship to the actual formation of the team, and not to say that this process has already been completed. Defeats from Moscow teammates, Fakel and Iskra, early departure from the Cup are transparently hinting: the team has yet to find its game. And then ...
Forecast: final.
DARK HORSE
Lokomotiv-Belogorye (Belgorod)
Indicators in the regular season: 6 wins, 5 losses - 6th place.
Opponent in 1/4: Dynamo TTG (Kazan).
Summary "Sport today." Until recently, hardly anyone could have imagined Belgorod at the quarter-final stage not as a favorite. Forcing preparations for the current season, the updated Lokomotiv briskly left the start, and even it seemed that he was able to maintain last year's level. There was no doubt about the deceptiveness of this impression towards the end of winter, when Belogorye failed in the Final Four of the Russian Cup, flew out of the Champions League, and then suffered a series of defeats in the championship. The lack of experience, the lack of a leader on the site, and the nervous situation with Gennady Shipulin, who first lost the election for the national team coach and then decided on staff changes at the club, affected. The upcoming nostalgic quarterfinal with Kazan will allow Belgorod viewers to see recent idols again, and at the same time compare the current level of Krasikov and Lesik with their stellar prototypes - Tetyukhin and Khamuttsky.
Forecast: quarter final.
ZSK-Gazprom (Surgut district)
Indicators in the regular season : 7 wins, 4 defeats - 4th place.
Opponent in 1/4 : “Torch” (Novy Urengoy).
Summary "Sport today." The club from Surgut was perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the first stage. Led by the Bulgarian season-playing player Plamen Konstantinov, who is conducting a brilliant season, and the traditional leader Pole Robert Prygel, the team spent the entire regular season on an extremely collected and smooth way, without super sensations, but without failures. The quarter-final series with Fakel, in which ZSK will have the advantage of its venue, will tell you in detail about whether this success was due to the quirks of the tournament format or whether Rafael Khabibullin really built an interesting team.
Forecast: quarter final.
Lokomotiv-Emerald (Yekaterinburg)
Indicators in the regular season : 5 wins, 6 losses - 8th place.
Opponent in 1/4 : Dynamo (Moscow).
Summary "Sport today." It seemed that the Emerald was such a well-studied team that it was impossible to expect surprises from it. And yet they followed. Wards Valery Alferova won only five victories, only by the difference in goals squeezed into the playoffs, but at the same time beat both Iskra and Moscow Dynamo. One of the reasons for the instability was the emergence of new legionnaires in the team - the gamer Terrence Martin and the blocking Jason Haldon, who brought a lot of benefit, but at the same time disrupted some gaming connections. Of course, the Urals have few chances in opposing Dynamo, but the character and the traditional supernast for the favorites will surely spoil the nerves of the reigning champion.
Forecast: quarter final.
Dynamo Amber (Kaliningrad)
Indicators in the regular season : 6 wins, 5 losses - 7th place.
Opponent in 1/4 : Iskra (Odintsovo).
Summary "Sport today." Created from scratch in the westernmost Russian region, the team has already achieved everything they wanted from this season. Out in the playoffs and a bright game in individual matches is the merit of an interesting coach Yuri Panchenko and bright players - Stanislav Dineykin, Thomas Samelvu, Lukash Zhigadlo. Having completed the minimum task, the ambitious Dynamo will now probably think about more. Iskra should not be ahead of time to prepare for the semi-finals.
Forecast: quarter final.
OUTSIDERS
The Ufa “Oilman of Bashkortostan”, Novosibirsk “Lokomotiv”, Perm “Prikamye” and Novokuibyshev “Nova” now have their own wedding - they have a stern four-circle battle for survival. It is clear that the “NB” was here by accident and it is unlikely that anything will hinder him from keeping his residence in the Super League. But the struggle of two newcomers of the tournament with the Novokuybyshevsky veteran of such battles quite threatens to escalate to the level of playoffs. All the most interesting in the Russian season is just beginning.