In the first semifinal match of the GM Challenge Cup on Tuesday evening in Baku, Azerrail defeated Russian powerhouse Uralochka in five sets (25:22, 22:25, 25:21, 29:31, 15:13) to move one step closer to the final.
In the first set, Azerrail opened up a quick two-point lead, 4:2, and gradually expanded it to a five-point advantage, 13:8. Uralochka countered with a 5:1 run to pull within one, 14:13. The teams traded points back and forth before Uralochka leveled the score at 19, forcing Azerrail timeout. Out of the break, Polina Rahimova scored three of the next five Azerrail points for a critical, 24:21 lead. Azerrail's defensive miscue gave Uralochka another point, 22:24, but Polina Rahimova sealed the set with a powerful spike off the block and out of bounds, 25:22.
The second set was the mirror image of the first, as Uralochka set up an early four-point lead, 9:5. Azerrail responded with a solo effort from Rahimova, who kept piercing Uralochka's defense with cross-court spikes from right and left. But the determined Russian side got the tempo going and seven (!) back-to-back points from Rahimova were more than offset by ten points from Filipova and Estes, 19:12. Down, 19:24, Azerrail fought off three set points on serves from Jennifer Tamas, but ultimately Uralochka was able to close the set, 25:22.
The third set was a close affair, as the teams swapped leads eight times early on. With the game tied at 12, Uralochka misplayed a Elisangela Paulino serve, and then Rahimova produced a kill and a block to make it 15:12. Uralochka caught back up with the host team once again at 17:17. But Azerrail came back with four points for a 21:18 lead. Moments later, a powerful spike from Iliyana Petkova gave Azerrail commanding lead, 24:20 and then a kill from Natalya Hanikoglu gave the set to Azerrail, 25:21.
The fourth set was as close as it only gets in volleyball, as neither team was able to distance itself from the other by more than three points throughout the entire set. Two-point Uralochka lead at the first technical timeout, 8:6, has turned into a one-point Azerrail lead, 16:15, by the time of the second technical. A powerful spike from Hanikoglu put Azerrail up by three-points, 21:18, but almost immediately the visiting team notched four straight points for a 22:21 Uralochka advantage. With the set tied again at 23:23, both teams traded points for a total of seven set/match points, until a reception error from Azerrail players gave the set to Uralochka, 31:29.
The beginning of the fifth, decisive, set could not have been worse for Azerrail. Clearly disheartened by the heartbreaking loss in the fourth set, Azerrail players only watched Uralochka pick up one point after another, for a 7:1 lead. Down by five, 3:8, the situation was quickly turning dire. But yet again, Polina Rahimova proved one more time why is she rightfully one of the biggest and brightest young stars in European and probably World volleyball. Five consecutive points by Rahimova cut Uralochka lead to only one, 9:8. Two more kills from Elisangela and Petkova pushed Azerrail ahead, 11:10, forcing Uralochka head coach Nikolai Karpol to take a timeout. With their backs against the wall, Uralochka recaptured the lead, 13:12 and now it was Azerrail coach Vugar Aliyev's turn to take a break. A missed Uralochka ball gave another point to Azerrail, 13:13 and then another Uralochka tip over landed out of bounds though Uralochka players and head coach Karpol argued vehemently that it was in. One point shy of victory, Iliyana Petkova put the exclamation point on the great comeback with a well-timed floater to propel Azerrail to a 15:13 match win.
Young Polina Rahimova scored record points in this match... 48 points with 53% effiency - is just great record... She scored these 48 points- 39 attacks,6 blocks and 3 aces.
The return leg of this semifinal will be played this coming Saturday, March 19, in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.
