Bengaluru Torpedoes stunned defending champion Kolkata Thunderbolts 15-10, 10-15, 15-13, 15-10 in a nervy Prime Volleyball League semifinal here on Friday.
Despite what Torpedoes coach David Lee termed as a ‘timid and slow’ start for his boys, his side managed to get the momentum to swing in their favour early on.
Kolkata skipper Ashwal Rai tumbled, needing taping on his leg consequently. While Kolkata kept finding a way to counter the Torpedoes, Bengaluru’s Bulgarian star Tsvetelin Tsvetanov’s barrage of attacks proved a bit too much for the holders. Cody Caldwell, who had an underwhelming game much like he did in the last league fixture a day prior, took a ball to the face when Ibin Jose’s smash found him instead. Successive errors helped Bengaluru clinch the first set 15-10.
Kolkata managed to peg one back in the second set. A smart review from Lee won Torpedoes an early point as the ball landed on the Thunderbolts’ sideline. Vinit Kumar, who had an uncharacteristically quiet game, did try to get the energy up for his side early on as he slammed the ball near Bengaluru skipper Pankaj Sharma. Rai soon found himself substituted after a net fault but it didn’t harm the side as they closed out the set.
The third set was closely contested, starting with an epic rally that Bengaluru should regret conceding. Kolkata was distracted for large parts of the rally but the side somehow managed to keep the ball in play and gain the lead. The fight thereon was neck to neck, in terms of intensity and errors.
However, Lee’s decision to play Jishnu PV, a blocker, in a spiker’s role worked perfectly. Soon after, another rally followed but this time Kolkata was not as lucky as Vinit’s ball block ended up bouncing off the antenna, denying Kolkata the point they thought they had. Thanks to a key review by Lee again, Bengaluru was awarded the points.
Kolkata needed to win the next set to stay in the game, but the Torpedoes surged ahead. A 0-4 set scoreline is one the Thunderbolts barely saw this season but could not find a way out of in the semifinal. While Kolkata scrambled for a few points and got the score close at 10-10, Torpedoes held their nerve and sealed the game in their favour, finishing in style with a super serve from TR Sethu.
The Torpedoes will face the winner of the second semifinal between Calicut Heroes and Ahmedabad Defenders in the summit clash on Sunday.
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