Ana Kudryashova’s familiarity with her former rivals wasn’t enough, as Creamline fell to Zhetysu VC in four sets to close out Pool A of the 2025 AVC Women’s Champions League on Monday night at the Philsports Arena.
Kudryashova, along with fellow Cool Smasers reinforcement Nasty Kolomoyets, were coming off a stint with VC Kuanysh in the Kazakh Volleyball League, where they played against reigning champion Zhetysu.
The Russian guest player shared that she came well prepared to face familiar opponents, but admitted it was tough going up against a well-oiled squad with years of built-up chemistry and a deep understanding of each other’s game.
“I think I knew the directions their players preferred, which definitely helped me with my blocking. They were trying to avoid me, but overall, it was about feeling the team’s tempo. It’s kind of easier to read the hitters when they’re tall like that — they tend to swing over the hands and aim deep. I think I was mentally prepared to play against them,” said Kudryashova.
“But it’s really hard to play against a team like that because, honestly, they run like clockwork. They train hard, they’re very talented, and they’re really tall. That makes it tough to go up against them because they’re just that good. Still, it wasn’t a surprise that they played like this and scored. I think we still showed a really good game.”
Coming off a nine-point outing in their opening-day 29-27, 25-20, 25-19 win over Al Naser of Jordan yesterday, Kudryashova came up with just five points in their 25-16, 25-17, 25-17 loss to Zhetysu.
Kolomoyets, meanwhile, tallied six points on five attacks and one block against her fellow Kazakhs.
Zhetysu head coach Marko Grsic mentioned that their familiarity with Kudryashova and Kolomoyets played a key role in their debut victory, which puts them in a position to lock the top seed in the group.
(C) PVL Images
“The foreign players in Creamline played in Kazakhstan, so we already knew their qualities and everything they’re capable of. We were very, very prepared for this match,” said Grsic.
Despite the loss, a possible quarterfinals stint is on the horizon for Creamline if Zhetysu defeats Al Naser tomorrow.
And Kudryashova wants the Cool Smashers to build on the positives from this loss and use it as fuel to grow stronger and more cohesive moving forward.
“I think we should keep the mindset that this is still our game, even though we lost. Throughout the match, we didn’t give up, even when it got tough. I think we’re just going to play the same way, try to improve in every aspect, and continue strengthening our game,” said Kudryashova.
“Since [Kolomoyets] and I joined the team a bit late, I think we’re getting better and better with each game. For the rest of the matches, we’ll come out stronger — just continuing to support and love each other.”
#WATCH: Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses, Anastasya Kudryashova, and Bernadeth Pons reflect on their first loss in the #AVCChampionsLeague
@ErnestTuazon /Tiebreaker Times#PVL2025 pic.twitter.com/1uQdVjcYse
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 21, 2025
