Final drama and the "golden set": How did "Azerrail" win the championship?

"Azerrail" retained the title of the strongest club in the Azerbaijan women's volleyball championship. The team changed the unsuccessful course of the final series with "Absheron" and won in the "golden set" - 15:12. This success can lay the foundation for the club's future development, considering also the European Cups.

Idman.biz reports that it is possible to consider the taste of victory sweeter, as the current season was quite difficult for the flagship of the country's volleyball.

"Azerrail" took third place in the regular championship after "Absheron" and "National Aviation Academy". Of course, no team can go the long distance without losses, and it is important to recover in the decisive matches of the championship. In this sense, it turned out that "Azerrail" has a better squad.

Anastasia Shupiyanova became the leader of the team. The Belarusian attacker, who played in clubs such as "Uralochka" and "Zarechye-Odintsovo", became the main striking force and source of inspiration for "Azerrail". This was especially evident in the return final match with "Absheron", and Shupiyanova showed herself at her best and became the most valuable player of the championship. In this sense, the score of 3:0 before the golden set does not fully show the full drama of the match, because in two of the three sets the champion won in the tie-break and won every point, literally, tooth and nail.

"Absheron", which includes a number of talented volleyball players, also achieved a good result. Ekaterina Zhidkova, Nikalina Bashnakova, Anastasia Mertsalova determined the team's game, and Famil Agayev's trainees, who defeated "Azerrail" in the first final, were contenders for the title. It is possible that luck and experience were not enough at the decisive moment, and it was extremely difficult to withstand the pressure of the champion who lost in the first match. However, "Absheron" also had chances to change the course of the game in their favor.

"National Aviation Academy" won medals of the national championship for the first time. In the match for bronze, the team defeated "Ganja". This season, the "aviators" strengthened the team well by attracting Belarusian top player Natalya Goncharova, Montenegrin national team attacker Daniela Jakovic and Vera Klimovich, known from Baku "Lokomotiv". Moreover, both Jakovic and Klimovich were eventually included in the symbolic team of the championship.

The current season was quite high-quality. There was intense competition throughout the championship, and the level also increased. This means that the next championships will be even more interesting.

Zeki Feyzullayev
Idman.biz