When on New Year's Eve Dynamo TTG lost their will to Odintsovo Iskra at their site the match of the semifinal tournament of the Cup of Russia and did not make it to the Final Four, many hastened to make a diagnosis: sports Kazan spent a lot of money to no purpose.
Viktor Sidelnikov’s team, which was formed in its current form only last fall and was staffed entirely by world stars, fed the unripe conclusions of skeptics until the end of the regular season. But in the playoffs, she finally began to confirm her high status. Then the coaches for the first time managed to gather all the leaders in one six, although the condition of individual players was still a matter of concern. And even when Kazan in the dramatic semifinal series defeated the same “Iskra”, the public was in no hurry to recognize in them the favorite of the final battle with Moscow teammates. The team of Vladimir Alekno outwardly quickly recovered from the champions ’embarrassment and reached the finals easily and naturally. Objectively, it seemed that in a long series, the young, fervent, full of strength and emotions Dynamo had more chances to win, although no one denied the strength of Kazan.
The first two matches became a kind of exchange of business cards. The start game was dominated by guests. Clayton Stanley, Alexander Kosarev and Sergey Tetyukhin brought down a hail of powerful innings against Muscovites, and while the owners, traditionally unsure of the reception, were trying to come up with something, the score was already 0: 2. However, they came up with. Yuri Berezhko, who stepped off the bench, launched a wave of Dynamo dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs, and Muscovites managed to return to the game on a psychological upsurge. Thanks to the efforts of the reservists, they managed to wrest out an almost hopeless fourth game, but the experience and stability of Kazan again affected the tie-break. With the active participation of his joker - Alexei Bovdui - Dynamo TTG came forward in the series.
The next day, it was the turn to play Muscovites' bets. An excellent match was played by the team captain Sergey Makarov, who took away the role of the main passer from Sergei Grankin, Semyon Poltavsky and the same Yuri Berezhko, who again successfully replaced Korneev. Kazan simply did not have the strength and room to maneuver - the gamers did not get into the game, and at the expense of only Stanley Lloy Ball managed to win only one game. The series froze in equilibrium, which without loss was able to be transported to Kazan.
Two Kazan matches were perhaps the culmination of the championship - in terms of volleyball, in emotions, in the character shown by both teams. Vladimir Alekno found a way to deal with the crazy Dinamo-TTG pitch, Stanley first of all - the hosts, forgetting the finishing, just tried to leave the ball in the game, Makarov hung a high gear to any of the territories and Matei Kaziiski and Semyon Poltavsky “shot off” one by one . Muscovites in full use of their main advantage - the actual simultaneous presence on the site of two diagonal at once: Kaziiski, which according to anthropometric data, and according to the game characteristics, being on the front line, is quite capable of attacking on an organized, often triple block with a percentage of 60. At the same time, during most of the third match and in the first two games of the fourth, the guests outplayed the opponent on the block and in the center of the net.
At certain points, it seemed that Kazan rested solely on Stanley. His compatriot Ball sometimes simply didn’t have other directions - the game did not stubbornly stick at the first pace, and the after-gamers did not differ in stability and did not give confidence. At the same time, the libero problem constantly arose. Konstantin Sidenko coped well with the reception, but in the game, in an open game, he was completely lost. One can understand when Tetyukhin and Kosarev, overwhelmed by work, formally relate to some protective duties, but when the libero insures its attackers on their straight legs like a volleyball antenna over and over ... Viktor Sidelnikov’s patience snapped after the lost third match - Sidenko replaced Babichev. In the attack, Ball was constantly looking for at least one more reliable option.
And still found. In the fourth match Dynamo TTG was on the verge of a total defeat - the first two sets were left for Muscovites. The find of Ball was Alexander Kosarev, for whom this year seems to be becoming a turning point. If earlier this comprehensively technically developed player had problems with psychology (Alexander could seriously be considered the best player in the world with a score of 18:11 in favor of his team), now Kosarev began to show leadership qualities, often taking on the game in the key moments of matches . Those for Kazan went all the way starting from the third installment - there was nowhere to retreat. In addition to Kosarev, the hosts unexpectedly started the first pace - almost for the first time in the series Andrei Egorchev really woke up. Yes, and Sergei Tetyukhin at a key time for the umpteenth time in his career he managed to get together, forget about numerous injuries and lead partners. Having received the desired variability, Ball, who was rarely discouraged, cheered (even the recent family misfortune did not affect the mood of the binder). The hosts managed to move away from the edge of the abyss, recouped from 0: 2 and led 5-0 in a tie-break. However, here already Muscovites remembered the character. The ending of the game became a denouement not only in the match, but, as it turned out later, in the entire series. The episode at the score of 14:15 in favor of the guests will surely form the basis of Semen Poltavsky’s nightmares - his blow to the game in a rather comfortable environment could become a champion, but fell into the block. Kazan did not forgive this anymore - Alexander Kosarev put the heroic point.
The series returned to Moscow, and they expected a no less exciting plot from the fifth match. However, the fantasy of the volleyball director has dried up. In the second half of the starting set, Kazan seized the initiative and did not give it back. Finally, the whole six began to play at Dynamo TTG, even along with the libero - Babichev. Kosarev, Tetyukhin, Egorchev and Bogomolov steadily brought points, so that in the attack, the guests even allowed themselves to hide in the shadow of Stanley - the diagonal took its toll. The ball evenly distributed the load among all the players, without forgetting to himself a couple of times.
Dynamo’s binder, again, lacked tactical wisdom. When the algorithm proposed by Makarov in the second match of the series refused to work (when the attack was ideally received in the center of the grid — take off or pipe, if shot down — from the edge from high gear to Poltavsky or Kaziyski), it turned out that Muscovites could no longer rebuild. In the decisive match, Poltavsky was extremely irrationally used, who was in excellent condition, but received only forced balls. After feats in Kazan, the game at Kaziiski did not go, and Korneev and Berezhko finally played the same way - badly. And in these conditions, Dynamo had a chance, but not against perfect Kazan. The third installment became an honor for the guests - Muscovites stopped resisting.
The super final of two essentially equal teams, thinking, nevertheless leaned towards the more experienced. The stars confirmed their status, and, dispelling skepticism, in the first season climbed to the top of one of the two most powerful national championships on the planet.
Sergey Tetyukhin, Alexander Kosarev and Vadim Khamuttskih earned a record seventh championship. The Americans deserve special awards - Clayton Stanley, the best player in the final, and, perhaps, the best in the Lloy Ball playoff series. Golden Ball and Stanley Cup in volleyball fashion. Well, and how not to mention Andrei Egorchev, who has long been a happy talisman in Russian volleyball - dreaming of returning to the national team, the central blocker obtained the championship title with the fourth team in a row. So those who want to win Russian volleyball gold now know where to start.