Russia showing intent to make it to the top – 2011 FIVB World League
The silver-medallist team of last year, Russia is making shocking waves in Pool B of the 2011 FIVB World League.
The Russian hotshots have not failed to impress since the start of competition. They captured all their matches in the previous two weeks and made a stunning start in the third week. Russia opened the third-week by taking on second best team of the pool,
Bulgaria.
The two teams made for the DS Energetik Sports Hall in Russian City Surgut on Friday, June 10. They were greeted by more than 5,000 fans, which comprised mostly of local volleyball enthusiasts. Russia played remarkably well in the presence of home crowd
and thrashed a straight set victory over Bulgarian team in76 minutes.
Russia vs. Bulgaria 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, and 25-18)
The opening phase of the match was dominated by hosts. Maxim Mikhaylov of Russia was simply on fire. He came strong on opponents and influenced them with his tactful game. The heavy strike of volleys by Mikhaylov devastated the young guns in Bulgarian squad.
Bulgaria’s defence was not convincing and they dropped too many shots. They were dragged under pressure, which further deflated them. On contrary Russians, played with a lot of discipline and continued stretching the gap of points. Besides Mikhaylov, the captain
of the Russian team Taras Khtei also played his role. He dominated the rival side with his commanding shots. As a result, Russia quickly moved to the finish line. Bulgaria dropped the opening set with a margin of 10 points (15-25).
There was a lesson for Bulgarian team in the first set. Team Bulgaria entered the second set of the game with a new game plan. They improved on reception and saved some crucial points through solid blocking. In the meanwhile, the Bulgarian captain Vladimir
Nikolov put up an emphatic effort for his team.
He attempted shots from different angles and raised his team’s score. Russia had some difficulty in dealing with his tricky cut shots but Nikolay Apalikov gave a hand to Russia in stopping Bulgaria’s score. Russia played fast after the second technical timeout
and successfully extended its lead to 2-0 by winning second set.
Team Bulgaria staged a better play in the second set and they did stick to the same approach in following set. On the other hand, Russia had grasped the game plan of opponents and came up with appropriate remedy. The head coach Vladimir Alekno gave a whole
set of instructions to his playing before entering the third set. Third set started out with an exchange of powerful shots. It was a ‘do or die’ situation for Bulgaria but Russia was fully prepared to finish the game in third set. Eventually, Russian side
proved to be too good for victory and claimed third set by sending 25-18 on board.
Mentor of Bulgarian side Radostin Stoychev was not happy about the shaky performance of his team. He complimented Russia for putting up such a nice show of volleyball.
He said, “Russia’s win was deserved. We were not confident in receiving the ball and made a lot of mistakes. New players that had substituted the injured ones almost didn’t have time for training.”
Russia and Bulgaria are set to meet up in the second match on Saturday. The hosts are tipped to capture the match as they are enjoying a tremendous form. The young team of Bulgaria need to produce an out of ordinary performance, in order to stand a chance
of victory against Russia.
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