The Kochi Blue Spikers had a lot to pat themselves after a 3-2 victory over Black Hawks Hyderabad in the RuPay Pro Volleyball League at the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium here on Friday.
It found a new star in Suresh Khoiwal, who was given a long stay on the court for the first time and repaid the confidence in full. With David Lee, the biggest star inspiring the side, and captain and setter M. Ukkrapandian doing his job smartly, the home team came back strongly after losing the first set. Suresh's strong smashes in the third and fourth sets should offer Kochi plenty of options in the matches ahead.
“That sure is a good thing as we go further in the league,” said Ukkrapandian after the team virtually sealed the victory with a 3-1 verdict and then tried out its bench in the last set which it lost.
That apart, the team’s regular stars S. Prabagaran, who shared the top spot in the team’s points table with David Lee (12 each), Manu Joseph, Andrej Patuc and libero Hari Prasad, played their roles well. And the big difference was the home side’s two-man block where Lee stood out.
Read: Chennai Spartans trounces Black Hawks Hyderabad
The Black Hawks won the opening set and led 11-10 in the next but the home side won two super points – one on a Lee smash and another on Suresh’s strong serve – and made it 1-1.
The other sets were also close but the Blue Spikers appeared to be lucky with the super point each time. Attacker Ashwal Rai topped the Black Hawks’ charts with 15 points, including 11 smashes, while Alexander Gerard and left-handed attacker Carson were close behind.
The victory, the Blue Spikers’ third from as many matches, brought it very close to a semifinal berth. The Blue Spikers play Calicut Heroes on Saturday in what is expected to the match of the league.
The result
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