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Lokomotiv Novosibirsk have made a perfect start to the 2026 Legends Cup, winning their opening two matches without dropping a set.
The latest success came on Monday evening at Lokomotiv Arena, where the hosts defeated Nova Novokuybyshevsk 3–0 (25:21, 25:22, 25:17), with Aleksandr Kostadinov leading the scoring with 13 points.
The result followed an equally convincing opening-day victory over Dynamo-LO, when Lokomotiv also won 3–0, taking the sets 25:19, 25:17 and 25:21. Two matches into the tournament, Plamen Konstantinov’s team have therefore yet to concede a set and have established themselves as one of the early contenders in Group B.
Kostadinov was the leading scorer against Nova, continuing an interesting return to the Lokomotiv first team after spending the previous season on loan at Gazprom-Ugra Surgut.
The 22-year-old outside hitter is a product of the Novosibirsk club’s youth system and returned to Lokomotiv for the 2026 season after his spell in Surgut.
He was not the only contributor in a balanced Lokomotiv performance.
Mikhail Vishnyakov and Ilya Kazachenkov finished with 11 points apiece, while Fyodor Voronkov added seven.
Radzhab Shahbanmirzaev and Denis Chereisky contributed five each as Lokomotiv controlled the match without allowing Nova to seriously threaten their lead.
The opening two matches have also highlighted the depth available to Konstantinov.
In the first match against Dynamo-LO, Omar Kurbanov was Lokomotiv’s leading scorer with 14 points, while Radzhab Shahbanmirzaev and Voronkov added 11 each. The different names appearing at the top of the scoring chart from one match to the next underline the number of offensive options available to the coach.
The same Group B has produced an equally strong start from Zenit Kazan.
The Kazan side opened the tournament with a 3–0 victory over Nova (25:18, 25:21, 25:18) before beating Dynamo-LO 3–1 (28:26, 25:21, 21:25, 25:18) on Monday.
Vladislav Davyskiba led Zenit in that second match with 19 points and a 68% attacking success rate, while Mikhail Khlyakin added 17.
That sets up the most intriguing match of the opening round in Novosibirsk: Lokomotiv and Zenit Kazan will meet on Tuesday evening with both teams undefeated.
The match at Lokomotiv Arena is scheduled for 19:00 local time, with the winner taking an important step towards finishing among the top two in the group.
The Legends Cup is being played in two stages. The first round in Novosibirsk runs from September 20 to 22, while the second stage will take place in Kazan from September 30 to October 2.
The two best teams in Group B will qualify for the Final Four, scheduled for October 10–11 in Moscow.
Lokomotiv are competing in this first stage without Luciano De Cecco, who remained with Argentina for the South American Championship in Rio de Janeiro, where the national team finished runners-up to Brazil on September 20.
In the Argentine setter’s absence, Konstantinov has been working with Egor Krechetov and Korney Nikolaev.
For now, however, Lokomotiv have shown that the absence of their experienced international setter has not prevented them from starting the new season at full speed. Two matches, two 3–0 victories and a place at the top end of Group B: the meeting with Zenit Kazan will provide the first real indication of how far this early momentum can carry them.
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