Russia: defending champions Lokomotiv fall to Fakel second time in just 2 days! Win also for ASK Nizhny Novgorod

Fakel Novi Urengoy celebrated the second victory over titleholders Lokomotiv Novosibirsk in the 2020/21 Russian Superliga Parimatch in just two days.
The second of the two matches in just two days between these two rivals turned out to be super-intense but once again it went in favor of the former. Unlike yesterday’s encounter, this one – valid for a delayed Round 7, had to be resolved in the tie-break: 3-2 (25:21, 16:25, 16:25, 25:19, 18:16). With this victory, Fakel settled at 4th position in the standings, pushing Zenit-Kazan to 5th place. Lokomotiv suffered the 4th defeat in a row and remained 7th.
Dmitriy Volkov top-scored the team from Kemerovo with 20 points, while Denis Bogdan set up 4 blocks. The performance of Serbian Dražen Luburić from Lokomotiv, 35 points, was not enough.
On the other match of the day, ASK Nizhny Novgorod extended their own winning streak to 5 games and moved up from the relegation (playout) zone to the playoff zone. The Nizhny Novgorod club came back from a two-set deficit against Gazprom-Yugra. Andrey Titich top-scored with 21 points, while Vitaliy Fettsov served 5 aces and Aleksandr Melnikov made 6 blocks.

| 2020/21 Russian Superliga Parimatch regular season – Recovery matches of Round 7

• Gazprom Surgut – ASK Nizhniy Novgorod 2-3 (25:21, 25:18, 15:25, 20:25, 10:15)
Top Scorers: Shakhbanmirzaev 21, Fialkovskiy 14, Chereiskiy 13, Kostilenko 12, Dovgan 10; Titich 21, Fettsov 20, Valeev 15, Nikonenko 12, Melnikov 9.

• Fakel Novy Urengoy – Lokomotiv Novosibirsk 3:2 (25:21, 16:25, 16:25, 25:19, 18:16)
Top Scorers: Volkov 20, Zhigalov 16, Bogdan 13, Dikarev 7; Luburic 35, Savin 16, Ivovic 12, Kurkaev 8, Abaev 6.

| Standings
Zenit St. Petersburg 42
Dinamo Moscow 41
Kuzbass Kemerovo 40
Fakel Novy Urengoy 38
Zenit Kazan 37
Ural Ufa 29
Lokomotiv Novosibirsk 25
Yenisey Krasnoyarsk 24
Yugra Samotlor Nizhnevartovsk 22
ASK Nizhniy Novgorod 19
Gazprom Surgut 17
Belogorie Belgorod 16
Dinamo LO 16
Neftyanik Orenburg 12