PVL 2022: Chennai Blitz dents Bengaluru Torpedoes playoff hopes
Chennai Blitz dented Bengaluru Torpedoes’ hopes of making it to the knock-out phase with a 9-15, 15-12, 15-13, 15-9, 12-15 win in the Prime Volleyball League match on Sunday.
Published : Feb 20, 2022 22:22 IST
Chennai Blitz dented Bengaluru Torpedoes’ hopes of making it to the knock-out phase with a 9-15, 15-12, 15-13, 15-9, 12-15 win in the Prime Volleyball League match at GMC Balayogi Stadium here on Sunday.
Playing for pride, after being out of contention for qualifying to the knock-out phase, Blitz powered by the brilliant attacker G.S. Akhin shrugged off early blues when it lost the first set to win the next three sets in style to clinch the match.
Torpedoes had a chance to win the third set after the scores were tied one-all, even after losing the super point to trail at 13-10, as Blitz conceded the second super point with a service fault. But, Akhin scored the crucial point at 14-13 to clinch the set for Blitz.
Akhin was all over the rival defence in the fourth set with not just his defence splitting spikes, but also showed his class with a few gentle efforts to roll the ball over to leave the rivals confused. Naveen Jacob Raja, Fernando Gonzalez and Bruno da Silva and Akhin made the difference when it mattered the most.
For Torpedoes, Pankaj Sharma was outstanding but saw his teammates falter at critical moments by not showing the desired coordination. Though his teammates Noah Taitano and Lavmeet Katariya came good with the odd powerful smash, it was not enough.
This was Blitz’s second win in six matches while Torpedoes suffered third loss in six matches.
The result: Chennai Blitz bt Bengaluru Torpedoes 9-15, 15-12, 15-13, 15-9, 12-15. Monday’s match: Hyderabad Blacks vs Calicut Heroes - 7 pm. |