The Azerbaijani Superleague kicked off on Monday afternoon in Baku.
In the opening match of the championship, Azerrail overpowered Baki 3:0 (25:19, 25:21, 25:16).
Azerrail won the first set 25:14 thanks to powerful spikes from Polina Rahimova.
In the second set, Baki was able to keep the pace, trailing only two points, 14:16, before Azerrail pulled away. Again it was Rahimova who made some crucial breakthroughs, ending the set 25:21.
In the third set, Azerrail reached the first technical timeout at 8:3 as Baki struggled defensively. By the time of the second technical break, Azerrail had a nine-point cushion at 16:7, and it was only a matter of time before victory was complete.
In the second match of the day, Rabita Baku pulled off a 3:0 (25:14, 29:27, 25:19) victory over Igtisadchi.
Igtisadchi did not perform well in the first set and failed to stop Rabita's onslaught, led by Natasa Krsmanovic and Natalya Mammadova, going down 25:14. Igtisadchi pulled their game together to make amends in the second set. Trailing narrowly 16:15, Igtisadchi upped their poise to tie the set at 23. In the ensuing game that went back and forth, Rabita's stonewall defense proved to be a decisive factor, as the reigning champions took the thrilling battle 29:27. Rabita continued their sparkling form in the third set as they roamed on their powerful attacks to win the set 25:19 and the match.
Shirvan's Odina Aliyeva and Tanya Sabkova became the heroes of the day as the duo played a pivotal role in orchestrating the first upset of the championship. After Shirvan went down 18:25 in the first and 26:28 in the third set against Lokomotiv, Aliyeva and Sabkova had a series of sensational spikes to help haul back two sets, 25:21 and 26:24. In the tiebreaker, Shirvan reeled off four of the last five points for the victory at 15:13.
Aliyeva and Sabkova finished the game with a combined total of 34 kills, while Aynur Karimova helped defensively, scoring 10 block points. Kremena Kamenova and Kristin Richards led Lokomotiv with 29 and 26 points, respectively.
Azerbaijani Superleague. I Round Statistics:
Rabita Baku - Igtisadchi 3:0 (25:14, 29:27, 25:19)
Lokomotiv - Shirvan 2:3 (25:18, 21:25, 28:26, 24:26, 13:15)
