Lokomotiv downs Omichka 4-0!!! GREAT match!

In front of a full house of about 3,000 fans at the Sarhadchi Sports Arena, Lokomotiv Baku defeated tough Russian Omichka team in straight sets 3:0 (25:16, 25:23, 26:24) and won the "golden set" 16:14 to advance to the next round of the GM Challenge Cup.

In the opening set, Lokomotiv forged ahead 8:7 and kept Omichka at bay, extending the lead to 16:13. Out of the second technical timeout hosts went on a 9:3 run to win the set, 25:16.

Lokomotiv came out strong again in the second set to claim an early 8:4 advantage. Host team pushed the margin to its widest at the 12:6 mark with Yelena Parkhomenko`s powerful attacks and Kseniya Kovalenko`s killing blocks before Omichka exploded with a 9:3 run to erase the deficit and then take an 18:17 lead with an amazing game of Bulgarian Eva Yaneva. Down by one point at 21:22, Lokomotiv responded with a 4:1 run of its own to snatch the set 25:23.

In the third set, teams went neck-to-neck all the way to 11:11, before Lokomotiv took what seemed like a comfortable 17:12 lead. Immediately, Omichka fueled a 7:0 run with a block and series of kills to push the tally to 17:19. Trailing 22:23, Lokomotiv answered with two-straight points. A successful attack by Russians evened the set at 24 before Lokomotiv connected on back-to-back kills to end the match 26:24 and tie the series 1:1.

Even though after two games Lokomotiv had a better set ratio, under new CEV regulations, in case of a tie (1 match won, 1 match lost), irrespective of sets ratio, teams now had to play one extra set, called"golden set" to determine the winner.

Going into the decisive "golden set", Lokomotiv dug itself a massive 2:6 hole early on. Several minutes later the situation turned dire as Russian team extended the lead to five points, 5:10. With Oksana Mammadyarova`s services and brilliance performance by Nancy Metcalf Lokomotiv, however, had no intentions of "going gently into that good night", as the team mounted a comeback of epic proportions to tie the game at 12, and then take a 14:12 lead. With their backs against the wall, Omichka saved two match points to level the set at 14, but it was Lokomotiv that finished the set and the match 16:14, sending the jubilant crowd in the stands into absolute frenzy.

Hero of the match was: