Lausanne, Switzerland, November 19, 2018 – Zenit Kazan prepared for the defence of their FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship title by adding another trophy to their collection in the form of the Russian Super Cup.
Zenit beat Zenit St Petersburg 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-15, 25-20) in a match that traditionally pits the previous season’s Super League Champions and Russian Cup winners against one another. However, because Zenit won both they took on St Petersburg who finished second in the league.
The Club World Championship will take place in Poland from November 26 to December 2. In 2017 Zenit defeated Lube Civitanova 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-13) in the gold medal match at the Tauron Arena in Krakow having won silver in 2015 and 2016.
Zenit will begin their defence at the Orlen Arena in Plock, where they will again face Civitanova, as well as local favourites SKRA Belchatow and fellow Russians Fakel Novy Urengoy.
Pool B takes place at the Hala Podpromie and features Italian side Trentino Volley, Brazil’s Sada Cruzeiro, Poland’s Asseco Resovia and Khatam Ardakan from Iran. The semifinals and medal matches will take place in the Hala Sportowa in Czestochowa.
Earlier this year Zenit won the CEV Champions League for a sixth time with Russian international player Maxim Mikhaylov named as the tournament MVP. Against St Petersburg and in front of 3,850 fans he led the scoring with 26 points.
He has been joined in Zenit’s colours by France’s star play Earvin Ngapeth, who along with Artem Volvich, scored 13 points in the Super Cup final. Cuban international Wilfredo Leon is no longer around after he moved to Sir Safety Conad Perugia Volley in Italy after 199 matches for Zenit, but the Russian club can also count on USA international Matthew Anderson to underline their strength.