In the Women’s Super League, the playoffs are in full swing and this weekend a group of semifinalists can be defined who will continue fighting for medals in the Russian championship. During the week, Dynamo Moscow, Dynamo Kazan, Leningrad and Proton came closer to this goal.
Let us remember that in the Women’s Super League the quarterfinals consist of a series of matches up to two victories. In the event of a tie after two matches, the teams will play an additional match at the home of the club that occupied the highest place in the standings at the end of the regular phase.
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In the Women’s Volleyball Super League, all playoff pairings have been determined. Who will take home the trophy?
The favorite was on the verge
The playoff series was opened by Dynamo Moscow and Uralochka-NTMK. The blue and white won an early victory in the regular season several rounds before the end, and Konstantin Ushakov’s team played the last game against its current rival in the quarterfinals.
And if in the preliminary round the capital’s volleyball players lost only one set after two matches, the first game of the playoffs once again showed that at this stage the intensity is completely different.
Pari Super League – playoffs (w). 1/4 final. 1st match
March 27, 2024, Wednesday. 16:00 Moscow time
Uralochka-NTMK
sverdlovsk region
Dynamo M
Moscow
Uralochka-NTMK: Alekseeva, Zvereva, Kornienko, Kotova, Chernysheva, Trukhina, Gonzalez, Fitisova, Pavlova, Selyutina, Vaganova, Shvydkaya, Protopopova, Kupryashkina
Dinamo M: Pipunyrova, Pushina, Goncharova, Sinitsyna, Kapustin, Evdokimova, Pereira, Startseva, Polyakova, Khabibrakhmanova, Kurilo, Zhabrova, Podkopaeva
Sverdlovsk players played an excellent game at the net and took a 2:0 lead in the match. The Moscow guests were not prepared for such a reception. “Uralochka” was close to causing a sensation and beating the first team in the championship to zero. But the dynamos activated their main element in time: the block. He helped stop Pavlova and Fitisova, who were playing. In the next three games, “Dynamo” delivered 17 “caps”, “Uralochka” – only 4.
“Uralochka-NTMK”
Photo: uralochka-vc.com
“Uralochka” was able to snatch the third set and with it the match. The teams did not let go and the intrigue lasted until the end. The locals were one step away from victory (25:24) and even made it difficult for the Dynamo volleyball players to receive, to the point that Evgenia Startseva was forced to make a feint. But it was this discount that equalized the score. Then the folder passed through her. Pereira and Pushina’s block on Fitisova won the set – 27:25.
The Moscow team revived and rushed forward in the fourth set: Goncharova and Kapustina scored points on attack. The latter became the most productive player of the match, scoring 27 points. Sverdlovsk women, on the other hand, have more marriages of their own. “Dynamo” created a comfortable reserve and took the game to a tie-break (25:19).
Housing complex “Dynamo” (Moscow)
Photo: uralochka-vc.com
In the shortened match, Dynamo completely controlled the situation and achieved victory in the first quarterfinal match with 15:11. The Ural team had a great opportunity to unexpectedly take the lead in the series, but the reigning Russian champions managed to turn the match in their favor. The teams will play their next match in Moscow, where Dynamo will have home field advantage. But let’s not forget that this season Uralochka shows her best results away from home.
No problem
The second and third teams at the end of the regular season did not delay their first playoff games and finished the games with a clean sheet.
Kazan Dynamo – Ak Bars did not leave their rivals from Tula any chance, surpassing them in all aspects: 53% in attack against 23% for Tulitsa, 18:4 in blocking (only seven points on account of the best blocker in the entire championship, Angelina Lazarenko ), and 57% versus 41% “positive” at the reception.
Pari Super League – playoffs (w). 1/4 final. 1st match
March 27, 2024, Wednesday. 19:00 Moscow time
Dynamo-Ak Bars
Kazan
Tulitsa
tula region
Dynamo-Ak Bars: Lazarenko, Rakhmatullina, Matveeva, Enina, Pietrini, Bibina, Lukyanova, Anufrienko, Suvorova, Astashina, Zamanskaya, Sperskaite, Klimets, Martinez
Tulitsa: Yuryeva, Efimova, Stankevichute, Mishagina, Smirnova, Kovaleva, Luneva, Prasolova, Timoshkova, Efimova, Slautin, Nyakina, Lebedkina
The Kazan volleyball players played an excellent match, as team coach Zoran Terzic noted in a post-match interview: “We played one of the best matches of the season. Serving, receiving, blocking, completing the game: everything went well. I’m happy. We played very well today, but this is just one game. We need to win one more to reach the semifinals.”
The second match between these two teams will be played in Tula, and it was there that Dinamo stumbled on matchday 11. So “Tulitsa” still has a chance.
Residential complex “Dynamo-Ak Bars”
Photo: dinamo-kazan.com
In the match between third and sixth place in the regular season there was more competition. “Leningradka” and “Dynamo-Metar” demonstrated excellent volleyball and fought brilliantly in the first two games. The teams were tied up to 20 points, but then Alexander Kashin’s team performed better (25:23 and 25:22). In the third game, the Chelyabinsk coach tried to change the pace of the game with substitutions, but, unfortunately, did not achieve a noticeable result.
Pari Super League – playoffs (w). 1/4 final. 1st match
March 27, 2024, Wednesday. 19:00 Moscow time
Leningrad
St. Petersburg
Dynamo-Metar
Chelyabinsk
Leningrad: Sikachyova, Kharlova, Romanova, Chernova, Garelik, Melnikova, Kutyukova, Matienko, Koroleva, Maksimova, Pirainen, Prokofieva, Shevchenko, Perova
Dinamo-Metar: Konovalova, Samoilova, Bagryantseva, Yargychova, Azanova, Sorokina, Fornaleva, Biryukova, Vasilyeva, Zaitseva, Dementieva, Mamedova
At the moment, the “yellow-black” dominate the matches against the Chelyabinsk team: in the preliminary phase, both matches were won by volleyball players from the northern capital. Dynamo managed to win only two games. But this is a playoff series and anything can happen. Moreover, in the previous season, Metar managed to do the almost impossible and beat the team that was above them in the standings: Dynamo – Ak Bars.
“Leningrad” – “Dinamo-Metar”
Photo: leningradka.spb.ru
Lokomotiv lost. Is this a sensation?
The intense day of play ended with a match between two neighbors in the qualification: in Kaliningrad, Lokomotiv hosted Saratov Proton.
Not everything went according to the flight attendants’ plan. The guests felt quite confident on the foreign court, showed daring and fast volleyball and achieved a comfortable 2-0 lead. The third set was also close to a successful ending for Saratov. But the coach’s excessive emotionality in the middle of the set forced the judge to show a red card to Yuri Marichev. This situation worried Proton. And Natalya Krotkova’s excellent serve decided the result of the match in favor of Lokomotiv.
After this, the hosts were able to easily take the fourth set and took the match to a tiebreaker. But it was not possible to return. The railwaymen lost at home to the Saratov team. And even 25 points from the league’s most productive forward, Ebrard Karakurt, did not save his team from defeat. The series moves to Saratov, where Proton now has home advantage and a win in reserve.
Pari Super League – playoffs (w). 1/4 final. 1st match
March 27, 2024, Wednesday. 20:00 Moscow time
Locomotive
Kaliningrad region
Proton
Saratov
Lokomotiv: Lyubushkina, Sinkevich, Gorbacheva, Popovich, Zaitseva, Brovkina, Parubets, Filishtinskaya, Krotkova, Tolok, Kostyuchik, Kondrashova, Bykova, Karakurt
Proton: Kostyukevich, Seliverstova, Gatina, Sergeeva, Belikova, Smelenko, Malykh, Markova, Soboleva, Lubenchenko, Bobrova
Radoslav Arsov, Lokomotiv coach, on the reasons for the defeat:
“We were very nervous in the first two games. “Proton” began to serve very strongly. And in our liberos, who failed. There are also doubts about the team, which did not play the game very well. But there is something positive: we got out of a difficult situation. In the third game, Natasha Krotkova served well. In the fourth set everything was on our side. I thought we were on the rise and we would finish the game. But the play failed again and they couldn’t score. And the fifth set is very short, it is difficult to fix everything there. Yes, Alla Galkina was injured, and Yulia Brovkina was injured. But Katya Lyubushkina played very well in the blocking position. She is great and a real fighter. Now we will try to clarify our ideas: the match in Saratov is ahead. Let’s get together, prepare and do our best to bring the series back to Kaliningrad.”
