Bulgarian specialist Georgi Petrov continues to strengthen his positions in one of Russia's strongest volleyball academies. Under his leadership, Lokomotiv-SSHOR (Novosibirsk) finished first in the regular season of the GEOTEK Youth League, thereby winning the "Pervaya Vysota" trophy.

The team from Novosibirsk is the reigning champion of Russia in the Youth League, having triumphed last season, and has now once again demonstrated consistency and class in the preliminary stage of the championship.

The figures show the significant superiority of the Novosibirsk team in the regular phase of the championship. Georgi Petrov's team has three more wins than its pursuers, and the points tally emphasizes the stability of their performance throughout the season. This allowed Lokomotiv-SSHOR to convincingly finish at the top of the standings.

In the final round of the preliminary stage, held in Kemerovo, the young "railwaymen" continued their winning streak. Lokomotiv-SSHOR defeated SSHOR Samotlor (Nizhnevartovsk) 3:0 (25:20, 25:23, 25:21), and then won a dramatic match against YUKIOR (KhMAO-Yugra) 3:2 (25:18, 22:25, 25:18, 21:25, 17:15).

The leader in these matches was outside hitter Timofey Benkovich, who scored 18 points in the first game and 21 points in the second.

In addition to leading Lokomotiv's youth team, Georgi Petrov is also an assistant coach for the Bulgarian U22 national team, which makes his success even more significant for the Bulgarian presence in international volleyball.

First place in the regular season brings the Novosibirsk team not only the "Pervaya Vysota" trophy but also an important strategic advantage – the final stage of the championship will be held in Novosibirsk.

Thus, last season's champion will have the opportunity to defend their title in front of their home crowd, and Georgi Petrov's work continues to establish the Lokomotiv academy as one of the most productive in Russian volleyball.

photo:lokovolley.com