Moscow, Russia, May 22, 2020 – Big names of former national team players appeared in confirmed transfer market news in Russia this week. Legendary Alexander Volkov returns to Zenit Kazan, while Denis Biryukov heads back to Dinamo-LO Leningrad Oblast.
Shortly after Dinamo-LO announced the departure of 35-year-old Alexander Volkov, Zenit Kazan officially confirmed that the 2.10m-tall middle blocker and former captain of the Tatari team is returning to the club, with which he won bronze at the 2011 FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship and two gold and one bronze medals in the CEV Champions League.
During the four seasons Volkov spent with Zenit from 2011 to 2015, he also became a three-time Russian champion and two-time Russia Super Cup winner. With the national team, Volkov took part in three Olympics celebrating with the gold in 2012 and the bronze in 2008. He also won FIVB Volleyball World Cup gold in 2011 and silver in 2007, five FIVB Volleyball World League medals, as well as gold at the 2005 FIVB Volleyball Junior U21 World Championship.
2.04m-tall outside spiker Denis Biryukov (31) was a player of Dinamo-LO from December 2018 through the end of that club season. After spending one season with Ural Ufa, he is on his way back to the Baltic coast. In his club career, Biryukov won the 2013 Champions League with Lokomotiv Novosibirsk and the 2015 CEV Cup with Dinamo Moscow. As a member of the Russian national team he won gold at the 2011 World Cup, gold at the 2011 World League, silver at the 2010 World League, silver at the 2007 U21 World Championship and gold at the 2006 CEV Junior European Championship.
Other recent market news from the men’s and women’s Russian Superliga:
• Three of Kuzbass Kemerovo’s key players will play with the Superliga bronze medallists next season as well: 1.96m-tall outside Evgeny Sivozhelez (33) – 2011 World Cup champion, 2013 World League champion, 2013 European champion, 2005 U21 world champion, three-time Club World Championship medallist and four-time Champions League winner; 1.97m-tall outside Anton Karpukhov (32) – 2018 FIVB Volleyball Nations League gold medallist; and 1.97m-tall middle Mikhail Shcherbakov (34) – former Russian international, best blocker (0.87 stuffs per set) of the Superliga season and season’s best player of the team by popular vote.
• Belogorie Belgorod announced the arrival of 2.10m-tall opposite Gabriele Nelli (26), 2018 gold medallist and 2016 bronze medallist of the Club World Championships and 2019 CEV Cup winner with Trentino Volley Trento, and the best scorer of the 2019 World Cup and bronze medallist of the 2015 U23 and 2013 U21 World Championships with Italy. Last season, Nelli played for Italy’s Gas Sales Piacenza. Belogorie also announced the departure of 1.97m-tall Bulgarian international outside spiker Rozalin Penchev (25), 2015 European Games silver medallist.
• After spending 10 seasons with Uralochka-NTMK Ekaterinburg, 1.90m-tall Russian international middle blocker Ekaterina Evdokimova (25), switched from the Superliga bronze medallists to silver medallists Lokomotiv Kalininingrad.
• The women’s team of Dinamo Moscow announced three more incoming transfers: 1.85m-tall Belarusian international opposite Hanna Klimets (22) from Uralochka; 1.84m-tall Russian international outside Sofya Kuznetsova (20) from Leningradka Saint Petersburg; and 1.70m-tall libero Mariia Bibina (26), a 2015 Club World Championship silver medallist, from Dinamo Krasnodar.
• One incoming, one outgoing and one staying player have been announced by the Belarusian participant in the Russian Superliga, Minchanka Minsk. 1.82m-tall Belarusian international outside Nadzeya Malasai (29) is returning to Minchanka from Russia’s Severyanka Cherepovets; 1.94m-tall opposite Natalia Dumcheva (27), former member of the Russian junior national team, is leaving the club, while 1.84m-tall outside spiker Viktoryia Siakretava (22), better known as a Belarusian beach volleyball international finishing fifth at the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championship, will play for Minchanka next season.
• 1.85m-tall Ukrainian international setter Oleksandra Peretiatko (36), 2011 CEV Challenge Cup winner with Azerbaijan’s Azerrail Baku, extended her contract with Yenisei Krasnoyarsk. The club also announced the departures of their best player of the season, 2015 European Championship bronze medallist and 2005 U20 World Championship silver medallist with her national team - 1.94m-tall Serbian opposite Marta Drpa (31), two-time world champion (2006 and 2010) and 2013 European champion with Russia and 2015 Club World Championship runner-up with Dinamo Krasnodar – 1.75-tall libero Svetlana Kryuchkova (35), 2005 U18 World Championship silver medallist - 1.89m-tall outside Natalia Nazarova (32), and 2019 U20 World Championship and 2017 U18 World Championship bronze medallist - 1.83m-tall outside Valeriya Shevchuk (19).
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