Fakel Yamal Novy Urengoy inflicted Lokomotiv Novosibirsk's first home defeat of the season, after completing a full comeback and winning 1:3 (25:18, 23:25, 19:25, 18:25). The visitors demonstrated mature, dynamic, and purposeful volleyball, laying the foundation for success through powerful serves, excellently organized defense with saved balls, and stable decisions from setter Mika Maa. Italian national player Yuri Romano was Fakel's main scorer and attack driver. At the beginning of the match, the Loko team came out in jerseys in support of Sam Deroo, who is battling cancer, and whose absence was felt on the court.
Lokomotiv started strong, but Fakel found their rhythm.
The hosts entered the match more focused and easily took the first set 25:18, dominating in attack and controlling the pace of play. Fakel Yamal was still looking for their game and struggled with reception.
In the second set, Lokomotiv again took the lead, but the visitors gradually found their rhythm. A series of ties led to a crucial moment \u2013 a block against Roozbeh Ranjbar secured Fakel's first advantage. In the decisive rallies, Romano played at even higher intensity, and a skillful drop shot by Mika Maa brought the first set point. A service error by Kazamchenkov made it 23:25, leveling the score at 1:1.
The turning point: aggressive serving and a wall in defense.
The third set began with an early lead for Fakel Yamal, which they maintained until the end. Lokomotiv only managed to get ahead once, but subsequent break points gave the visitors comfort. A series of important defensive digs, a solid block, and new inaccuracies from the hosts \u2013 including a service error by Kurbanov \u2013 led to a convincing 19:25 and a 1:2 comeback.
Final push and closing out the match.
Lokomotiv tried to bring back the intrigue in the fourth set. The hosts took a 2-3 point lead and maintained the difference until the middle of the set. However, Fakel Yamal began to pressure with Mika Maa's serve. Several ties followed, Romano again led the attack, and Maa's strong serving run \u2013 including an ace against Kurbanov \u2013 increased the score to 17:20.
After another break point, the lead reached 18:23. Romano closed the match with an ace, securing the final 18:25 and Fakel Yamal Novy Urengoy's fully deserved victory.
The Italian finished as the top scorer with 24 points, 2 blocks, and 48% attack efficiency. Kapranov added another 15 for the win.
For the hosts, Lysyk finished with the most points \u2013 14, followed by Ranjbar and Kurkaev with 11 each, and Kurbanov with 10, but even this was not enough for more than a set in the hosts' favor.
Simeon Nikolov finished with 3 points, including 1 ace, 1 block.
Lokomotiv lagged in attack efficiency (43% vs 47%), with the opponents scoring 10 more points from this element. The hosts also made more errors, 31 against 29 for the guests.
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This is Lokomotiv's second loss, after recording their first during their away match against Dynamo Moscow. Before this match, the "railwaymen" were in second position in the temporary standings.
