Press release

Doha, Qatar, October 8, 2011 – Zenit Kazan of Russia defeated Trinity Western Spartans Vancouver of Canada 25-11, 25-15, 25-16 in the opening match of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship on Saturday morning in Doha, Qatar.

Zenit Kazan were led by Maxim Mikhaylov’s 11 points, including three aces. Alexander Gutsalyuk totaled 10 points including three blocks and an ace, while teammate William Priddy contributed 10 points. Trinity Western Spartans Vancouver was paced by Steve Marshall’s 11 points, while captain Rudy Verhoeff charted 10 points.

Zenit Kazan won the service battle with a 12-0 margin in aces and kept their errors to just 10 for the match. Trinity Western committed 20 errors in the match.

For additional information on the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship, click here. For more informaton on the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship, click here. For Daily Bulletins for the tournament, click here.

Zenit Kazan continue Pool A action on Oct. 9 versus Paykan Tehran, while Trinity Western Spartans look to earn their first pool match on Oct. 10 versus Paykan Tehran. The top two teams in the two four-team first-round pools advance to the cross-over semifinal round on Oct. 13.

Zenit Kazan opened the first set with a 5-0 advantage with two aces by Nikolay Apalikov, then went into the first technical timeout leading 8-1. By the second technical timeout, Zenit Kazan maintained a nine-point cushion at 16-5 as five different players were credited with at least two points. Trinity Western Spartans called a timeout following a Priddy block at 20-7. Zenit Kazan ended the set at 25-11 following a Trinity Western service error. Priddy ended the set with seven points, while Zenit Kazan converted on 12 of their 15 attacks without an error.

In the second set, Zenit Kazan reached the first technical timeout with an 8-5 advantage as Steve Marshall get Trinity Western fired up with a block and spike. Evgeny Sivozhelez served consecutive aces and Trinity Western was called for a blocking error to build Zenit Kazan’s lead to 13-7. Zenit Kazan held a six-point edge, 16-10, at the second technical timeout. Zenit Kazan controlled the last part of the set to gain a 25-15 victory and benefited from 10 Trinity Western errors in the set.

Zenit Kazan started the third set with a 4-0 lead and reached the first technical timeout with an 8-4 advantage. Trinity Western closed the deficit to 11-9 following a block by Daniel Jansen van Doorn. However, Zenit Kazan responded with the next three points to force Trinity Western into a timeout trailing 14-9. Zenit Kazan never allowed the younger Trinity Western team in the match as they closed the set with a 25-16 victory.