Zenit-Kazan vs. Lokomotiv | Bronze Match | HIGHLIGHTS | Russian Cup 2026

Both teams started the match with their reserve squads, giving the opportunity to finish the season to those players who did not receive the most amount of practice in combat conditions. In Kazan, Mikhail Labinsky stood out from the players of the first team, in Novosibirsk – Sam Deru.

The teams took a long time to warm up and get into the game, but eventually they got going and played at full capacity. Andrey Surmachevsky took on the role of leader for Zenit, while Mikhail Vishnyakov and Yuri Brazhnyuk excelled as central defenders for Lokomotiv. In the attack, Vadim Ozhiganov relied on Radjab and Sam Der at different points in time.

The rivals played out to the fifth set, in which both Alexey Verbov and Plamen Konstantinov finally brought in a number of leaders – Fyodor Voronkov had already appeared on the court: he helped take the second set with his serves, and finally settled in the game in the fourth set. Zenit, on the other hand, brought in Dmitry Volkov in the tie-break, and Mikhail Labinsky moved to the diagonal – Drazen Luburić left the court. The key factor in the shortened game was the serve, or rather – two aces by Voronkov after the change of sides. Plamen Konstantinov's team maintained their advantage, and the final set was won by the railway team with a block – 15:12 and 3:2, giving Lokomotiv a victory in the final match of the season.

The most productive players in the match were Zenit's Andrey Surmachevsky and Novosibirsk's Radjab, who both scored 22 points.

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