Hyderabad, Feb 13 (IANS) Hyderabad Black Hawks became the first side in the Prime Volleyball League to register a 5-0 victory after defeating Chennai Blitz 15-14, 15-11, 15-14, 15-7, 15-13 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.
Hyderabad picked up three points from this match (two points for the win and an extra point for winning the match 5-0) and Hyderabad Black Hawks’ SV Guru Prasanth was adjudged the Player of the Match.
Naveen Raja Jacob and Bruno Da Silva got the Chennai Blitz off to a strong start as the side took the lead at 6-2.
Akhin GS also stood tall with a fabulous spike as the Blitz held the lead at 14-9. However, Guru Prasanth and Praful S put up a spirited performance as the Black Hawks made a remarkable comeback and leveled the scores at 14-14. Chennai missed a spike as the Black Hawks stole the first set at 15-14.
The Blitz regained the momentum and took a three-point lead at 8-5 in the second set. George Antony pulled off a superb spike, but the Blitz still held the lead at 11-10. Moments later, Jacob missed a spike and as Hyderabad leveled the scores at 11-11. Asifmon put the Black Hawks in the driver’s seat with a Super Serve as the team led at 13-11. Hyderabad eventually wrapped up the set at 15-11 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
A fantastic block by Akhin helped Chennai win a Super Point and take the lead at 7-5. However, Hyderabad kept fighting and eventually levelled the scores at 8-8. Prasanth carried out a fantastic spike and Amit Gulia effected a brilliant block as the Black Hawks levelled the scores at 12-12.
Jobin Varghese pulled off a brilliant spike to hand Chennai the lead at 14-13, but Hyderabad levelled the scores at 14-14. Thereafter, Captain Vipul Kumar and John Joseph EJ effected a fabulous block as the Black Hawks won another close set at 15-14 and sealed the match.
The Black Hawks rode on their momentum and took a massive lead at 5-1 in the fourth set. Hyderabad eventually closed out the fourth set and threatened to register a clean sweep and take an extra point from this match.
The Chennai Blitz and Hyderabad Black Hawks played out another hard-fought contest in the final set and were locked at 7-7. Jobin Varghese produced a magnificent spike as the Blitz took the lead at 10-9. Chennai pulled off a brilliant block to win a Super Point and extend their lead further. Varghese continued to shine as Chennai stayed ahead at 13-12. But Hyderabad regained the lead at 14-13 and registered a 5-0 victory after taking the fifth set at 15-13.
The Calicut Heroes will take on Bengaluru Torpedoes at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Monday.
–IANS
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