Senior coach of Lokomotiv Novosibirsk Plamen Konstantinov commented on the 3:1 victory over Zenit Kazan. He did this after the match to the Russian websiteBO Sport.

Konstantinov described the match as a good start to the championship and noted that both teams have work to do. According to him, Lokomotiv's serve, reception, and block were more stable, while in rallies, the hosts had a slight advantage. Plamen, as he is often called in Russia, believes his team missed too many opportunities compared to previous matches and stressed that the quality of play needs to improve.

He paid special attention to the young setter Simeon Nikolov, who finished the match with an attack.
"Moni is an atypical player and cannot be restricted because he constantly engages the opponent's attention and holds the block. I believe that a setter of his type should not be boxed in. Of course, there needs to be a balance in certain situations, which he himself should sense and maintain. After all, he is only 18, and at the end of the month, he will turn 19. Sometimes we might expect too much from him. But he is developing and growing," Konstantinov commented.
Konstantinov admitted that he sensed Nikolov's ability to respond to Abaev's attempt at a surprise in the decisive moment of the fourth set with the score 30:29 for Lokomotiv. He described the situation as a typical "setter's battle" where intuition plays a big role.

Regarding his cautious predictions before the start of the season, Konstantinov stated that Lokomotiv's current leadership is entirely logical, despite the change of setters and the need for time to adapt. He pointed to Zenit (SPb), Dynamo Moscow, and Belogorie as more cohesive teams, especially at the start of the campaign. According to him, Belgorod was the most organized at the beginning, but the absence of Al Hachdadi and another foreign player had an impact.

Konstantinov concluded that Lokomotiv's goal is to build the necessary interconnection and stability in their game as quickly as possible.