Russia defeated hosts Serbia 3:1 (21:25, 25:20, 25:17, 25:14) for the Channel One Cup, making a complete comeback after losing the first set. After a shaky start, garnished with attack errors, especially from Maxim Sapozhkov and Dmitry Volkov, the Russians recovered with aggressive serving and excellent net play.
Lokomotiv Novosibirsk player Ilyas Kurkaev, whose coach is Plamen Konstantinov, started as a central blocker for Russia in the victory over Serbia. Kurkaev played the first two sets in Belgrade. The central blocker showed stability in defense before giving way to Dmitry Zhuk in the third set.

Sapozhkov, who played in Montana, was unstoppable – 23 points (including 4 aces and 3 blocks), with 62% attack efficiency. Volkov and Denis Bogdan added 12 points each, with Bogdan also distinguishing himself with key blocks in the second set.

In the third and fourth sets, Russia completely controlled the game, outplaying Serbia in all aspects. The block was again weapon #1, with the Russians scoring a total of 18 points on this element against only 6 for the Serbs.

The final point of the match came from an ace by setter Pavel Pankov, who confidently orchestrated his team's attacks.

For the hosts, Drazen Luburić was the top scorer with 20 points, but this was not enough against the powerful Russian team, which demonstrated depth and class at the end of its training camp.

The Channel One Cup remains in Russia, and Ilyas Kurkaev's presence in the starting lineup shows that he continues to be a serious option in head coach Konstantin Bryanskiy's schemes.