Coming off winners against Japan's Hisamitsu Springs and Brazil's Molico/Osasco in their first two Pool B matches, Dinamo Kazan kept their momentum going with a 3-1 (25-23, 27-29, 25-21, 25-14) victory over South American Champions SESI-SP in the second semifinal of the 2014 FIVB Women's Club World Championship at Saalsporthalle in Zurich, Switzerland on Saturday.

Dinamo Kazan qualified to the final spot of the competition to be held on Sunday at 16:30 local time (14:30 GMT) with Molico/Osasco who booked early their tickets to the final, while SESI-SP face Switzerland's Volero Zurich for the bronze medal at 14:00 local time.

The Russians played text book volleyball from start to finish and did not allow the opponent to develop any strategy to stop them. They served furiously, showed solid blocking and displayed their arsenal of power in the attacks.

The magnificent Kazan's Attacker Ekaterina Gamova led the balanced offense of Russia with impressive 34 points which is the best scoring performance in the competition so far, followed by the outside hitter Jordan Larson-Burbach.  SESI's opposite attacker Ivna Marra was the best scorer from the Brazilian team with 25 points making the competition second best performance.

Kazan started the match with their towers guarding the net and using their big guns Ekaterina Gamova and Larson-Burbach doing a great role in penetrating the opponent defence to lead 8-6 at the first TTO. Gradually SESI came to the match with the quick attacks from the middle blocker Fabiana beside the hits from the opposite Ivna Marra but quickly Kazan came back with their blockers to win the set after a great fight 25-23.

In the second set Gamova led Kazan with her unstoppable hits from all the net position to lead 8-5 at the first TTO. SESI played their best in the match where their middle Fabiana did a great role in both blocking and quick attacking beside the opposite Marra who was the star of the set putting her razor sharp hits in position. SESI lost 2 set points and saved once before they won the thrilling set 29-27.

The third set was very competitive as it went point by point till Kazan had a bigger jump 17-14 after two killing blocks. Marra came back with her strong hits to narrow the point deficit relatively before Gamova started again her role to win the set 25-21 and lead 2-1.

SESI had early activity using the strong spike service which disturbed the Russian team for some time but they came back quickly through Gamova's collection of skilled spikes till they came up 16-10 at the STT. The highly motivated Kazan players dominated the match completely thereafter and with a killing attack from Gamova she scored her 34th mark and the match point to win 25-14 and the match 3-1.

Dinamo Kazan Rishat Gilyazutidnov:
"Sesi-SP played really well today. They had a compact defense and challanged us. Fabiana is an incredible player and did a good job today. After arriving in the hotel, we have to prepare for the final game against Molico Osasco, even more as the regeneration time is really short. Our medical team will have to do a lot, but we will be ready. We want to play with a lot of emotions tomorrow and win this tournament"

Dinamo Kazan wing spiker Antonella Del Core:
“It was a hard game for us. We had some problems with their blocking game. They hadn’t a high, but a really compact one. However, Ekaterina Gamova made the difference for us with her points. The game tomorrow against Molico Osasco will be a big fight. They’ve got good players and a lot of experience”

Sesi-SP coach Talmo Curto Oliveira:
“It was a really tight game against Dinamo Kazan. We kept it in balance. However, Ekaterina Gamova could make the difference as she played with a lot of varieties in her plays. We, on the other hand, had our chances, but couldn’t take advantage of them. Nevertheless, I’m really proud of the performance of my team. Now we want to prepare for the Bronze medal game and not think too much about this defeat”

Sesi-SP captain Fabiana Claudino:
“We knew this game would be hard for us. I think the little details made the difference. We had to search other ways to get points, as the Russians have a strong blocking game. We tried to keep the game fast and play other lanes, but gave them too much space. We want to prepare now for this Bronze medal game tomorrow against Volero Zurich. It will be as tight as the last time. However, it will be even more exciting as it’s a game for everything or nothing"

Club World Championship. Semifinal.
Dinamo Kazan ( Russia ) - SESI ( Sao Paulo , Brazil) - 3:1 (25:23, 27:29, 25:21, 25:14)
May 10. Zurich. Saalsporthalle. 920 spectators.
Referee: Shuerman P. (Liechtenstein). Match time: 1.48 (27+33 +27 +21)
Dinamo Kazan: Borodakova -K (2), Larson (15), Gamova (34), Startseva (8), Del Core (12), Moroz (7) - start six, Ulanova ( libero ), Malkova (5), Frolova, Melnikova, Voronkova.
SESI: Fabiana - K (15 ), Dani Lins (3), Oliveira (10), Marra ( 25), Figueiredo(10), A.Correa (7) - snart six, Pinto (libero), Daroit, Casemiro, Albuquerque.
Points - 102:87, serve - 6:1, attack - 60:58, block - 17:11, errors - 17:19