CEV Cup: both Russian clubs take first steps toward reaching final

Both Russian clubs achieved wins in their respective 1st leg matches of the 2021 Volleyball CEV Cup semifinals.
In first match Dinamo Moscow prevailed over France’s Montpellier Castelnau Volley UC in four sets (25:21, 25:16, 13:25, 25:21). It was the long-awaited encounter in the Russian capital given that the two sides are at the moment leaders of their respective national championships. Bulgarian Tsvetan Sokolov was the absolut top scorer of the match with 22 points, while Pavel Pankov served 5 aces and made 4 blocks for the winners. Canadian Ryan Sclater scored 14 points for Montpellier, while his compatriot Danny Demyanenko set up 5 winning blocks.
On the other semifinal, Zenit Saint Petersburg beat Belgium’s VC Greenyard Maaseik in 4 sets as well. Egor Kliuka with 81 % attack and 17/21 and Ivan Podrebinkin scored 18 points each on the winning side, while Jolan Cox scored 18 points for Maaseik.

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| 2020/21 CEV Cup | Semifinals

| First Leg | February 24
• Dinamo Moscow – Montpellier Castelnau Volley UC 3-1 (25:21, 25:16, 13:25, 25:21)

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• Zenit Saint Petersburg – VC Greenyard Maaseik 3-1 (25:20, 23:25, 26:24, 26:24)

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| Second Leg | March 3
• VC Greenyard Maaseik – Zenit Saint Petersburg 3-0 (25:23, 25:17, 25:19 —GOLDEN SET: 16:18)

| March 4
• Montpellier Castelnau Volley UC – Dinamo Moscow 0-3 (23:25, 22:25, 10:25)