Having finished the group stage with a perfect record of six straight-set wins, the defending European champions Zenit Kazan were really tested for the first time tonight in Berlin.
The Australian head coach of Berlin Recycling Volleys Mark Lebedew wasn’t especially satisfied to learn that his team would have to cross paths with the Russian champions Zenit Kazan and eventually Itas Diatec Trentino from Italy in the knock-out phase of the CEV Champions League. There were reasons for his concern – Vladimir Alekno‘s boys were leaders in the Russian Superleague (with one defeat in 13 games) and won all six games of Pool A in the Champions League in three sets. In the last days of 2102, however, Zenit lost the Russian Cup final in Belogorie against the hosts, so a good start of 2013 was expected to energize the “blues”.
Berlin Recycling Volleys, on the other side, are still unbeaten in the domestic league and, despite remaining second in Pool B after another Russian giant Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, maintained a great home record in “Max-Schmelling Halle” this season. In addition to that, the Australian opposite Paul Carroll – one of the heroes of the previous season, has been gradually returning to his best shape and was providing a dose of optimism to his head coach and the home crowd.
Lebedew, nevertheless, could not enjoy a full squad selection tonight as Roko Sikiric, quite often one if his jokers, got injured in the morning before the game. Scott Touzinsky also sat on the bench throughout the whole game and it was left to the young local outside hitter Bjorn Hoehne and his 193 cm in height to fight the mighty Russians in a battle of teams extremely dependent on their block skills.
Vladimir Alekno was fortunate to avoid the regulations of the Superleague in the European Club competitions which meant that all three foreigners – the Americans David Lee and Matthew Anderson, as well as the Italian maestro Valerio Vermiglio, enjoyed court time simultaneously.
Zenit seemed distracted at the beginning of the match. With a 7-point disadvantage at 16-9, Alekno realized changes are necessary. Yuri Berezhko came on to replace the shaky Anderson. And yet again the Belarusian-born strategist found a way to lead his team in the right direction. David Lee was a wall at the net, whereas Evgeny Sivozhelez and Maxim Mikhaylov from the serve line destroyed the German reception. A few mistakes by Robert Kromm contributed to the comeback of the Russians.
Having dropping such a point cushion against the reigning champion coached by probably the best mentor in 2012, Berlin had a mountain to climb. Personally, I thought they would crumble, but Mark Lebedew had obviously done a good job building on the team chemistry. Berlin went on even more focused and won the next two parts thanks to a very reliable Paul Carroll. In the third they took a 16-8 advantage and did not repeat the mistake they had made earlier on.
However, Zenit would not be considered among the best teams of the world for no apparent reason. A fast fourth set sent the game to a decider. There we saw everything we could want from modern volleyball – drama, a yellow card (not punishable according to the new change of rules), several match points and another glory night for Kazan. Anderson had found back his place on the field in the fourth set and had a massive impact in the fifth one. The young superstar of the Russian and world volleyball Maxim Mikhaylov saved a German matchball at 14-15 after he himself got blocked by Hoehne in the previous rally. Zenit closed the tie-break with a block at 18-16 – the same element on which both head coaches normally rely heavily.
The return game next Tuesday, 22.01.2013, promises even more great actions, but for sure the outcome of tonight’s drama increases the chances of Zenit to go further in the tournament.
Berlin Recycling Volleys – Zenit Kazan 2-3 (25-27, 25-23, 25-17, 16-25, 16-18)
Berlin Recycling Volleys: Shoji 4, Carroll 24, Kromm 20, Hoehne 13, Fischer 11, Kmet 5, Krystof – libero, Galandi 1, Kuehner
Zenit Kazan: Vermiglio 3, Mikhaylov 23, Anderson 14, Sivozhelez 18, Apalikov 2, Lee 13, Babichev – libero, Kolodinskiy, Cheremisin 1, Abrosimov 6
Pictures: CEV