Fast start, tense finish: Korablelka sweeps Enisey in Saint Petersburg

Round 20 of the 2025/26 Women’s Superliga brought Enisey to Saint Petersburg, and I walked into the arena expecting a tight exchange of runs. What I got was a lesson in tempo — and then, right at the end, a reminder that volleyball loves plot twists.

Act one was pure acceleration. Korablelka came out sharp on serve and ruthless in transition, so the early frames were all about clean lines: the toss, the jump, the block closing on time. The scoreboard tells it plainly — 25–14 in one set, 25–11 in another — but the real story was how quickly Enisey was pushed into “keep it alive” mode, living on second chances.

Then the match flipped into its climax. The third set stopped being a straight road and turned into a staircase: 4–4, then small swings, then those moments at 17–17 and 19–19 where every touch is a decision. As a sports photographer Saint Petersburg, that’s where match photography becomes less about the spike itself and more about everything around it: the setter’s glance, the libero bracing for contact, the bench reacting before the whistle even finishes. That’s the stuff that makes sports photography feel honest.

Korablelka closed it 25–23 for a 3–0 win — dominant overall, but earned in the details. I left with a full card and a simple takeaway: the best images often arrive when the “easy” script suddenly asks for composure.
See the full gallery with the best moments from Korablelka vs Enisey here: Korabelka vs Yenisei.