Short characterization

RUSSIA

PLAYERS

STARTING SIX - SUBSTITUTES

1	Volvich Artem
3	Kalandadze Levan
5	Markin Alexander
10	Shcherbinin Dmitry
15	Obochaev Alexey (L)
16	Bezrukov Valentin (C)
18	Burtsev Sergey
2	Chervyakov Sergey
4	Semenov Konstantin
9	Shishkin Vladimir
12	Moskvin Ruslan
14	Kobzar Igor

3	1	10/5
12	2/18	16/14

General remarks about the team and about the playing-style

• Performance in Complex 1 and 2 is average and has to be developed.
• Good developed athletic players.
• Some players are very tall.
• Combination of universal playing abilities and individual strength.
• Russia has best scorer of the tournament: No 3 Levan Kalandadze (155 points).
• Effective playing structures.
• Efficiency and fluency of playing has to be developed.

Serve

• Russia makes most serve aces (43) in the tournament, but also most faults (109). 
• No. 1 in team ranking best servers.
• Mix of actual techniques from different positions (powerful floats, jump spin power serve, controlled float serve. No 3 Levan Kalandadze with many jump spin power serves - rank 2nd in individual players‘ ranking.
• Technical precision and tactical efficiency adapted to opponent.
• Major goals are: direct point, taking risk in service.

Serve reception

• Basic frontal serve reception is often applied, based on good anticipation and positio-ning of the players.
• Three players in reception formation.
• In team ranking 6th place with 28 faults in the tournament.
• In case of jump serve by opponent: often impulse control or punch technique is used. The position is low and the arms move down, sometimes to the floor, when the ball is played.
• In case of float serves application of high reception with flexible overhead technique.

Set/Attack - Complex 1 and Complex 2

• Easy and quick steps from starting position to target. During the steps moving with front or with back in the direction of the net, depending of the situation. Pivot by right or left foot.
• Adjustment by little steps from target to playing position
• Jumping with take off of both feet or running and take off by one foot.
• Setter shows a good timing of interaction with quick attackers and performs well in the typical Russian style with high setting for outside attackers (often also with underhand techniques).
• Always taking the ball as high as possible by both hands, sometimes one hand.
• Quick attack play in Complex I: Outside attack from position 4 is dominating with diagonal direction of the spike, often termination of 1st tempo attack from varied position behind the setter, in individual cases also as backcourt-attack.
• Quick and precise sets from nearly all the positions in the court.
• Effective variation of setting: tempo and positions. Incorporating back row attack in most of the combinations.
• In Complex 2, based on good blocking and defense performance, effective variation of quick and high attacks.

Block and defense

• Efficiency and organization of blocking.
• Tactical adaptation of blocking based on statistics and tactical analysis of opponent.
• Different step combinations, blocking position adapted to the play situation.
• Efficient cooperation and synchrony in movement of the blockers.
• Good level of block performance: kill blocks and rebounds.
• No. 3 in teams block ranking.  Individual best blocker: Dmitry Shcherbinin with 20 kill blocks.
• Depending on the actual situation block coverage (without covering the tip, net player not included into the block, combination of backcourt players on position 1 and 5).