PVL 2023: Chennai Blitz eye recovery against resurgent Hyderabad Black Hawks

The Blitz are second from the bottom after just one win in three matches.

Hyderabad Black Hawks will look to continue their winning momentum in front of the home fans when they face off against a hapless Chennai Blitz at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. Chennai have lost their last two games in the Prime Volleyball League (PVL) 2023, first suffering a 0-5 defeat against Mumbai Meteors, and then going 2-3 down against Bengaluru Torpedoes.

On the other hand, after a memorable performance from Hemanth, who made five aces in a row in the previous match, the Black Hawks are riding high on a big win over Kochi Blue Spikers.

"The mood's always good after a win. We have momentum and we are looking to carry that in the next game tomorrow," Hyderabad Black Hawks star Trent O'Dea said.

"Chennai will feel the pressure after having lost two games in a row. We are almost halfway through the season now. So, there is pressure on most of the teams, because there are only a couple of games left. So, wins are more important if you want to reach the final," he added.

Trent also went on to praise skipper SV Guru Prashanth and Hemanth but added that Hyderabad Black Hawks has equally talented resources on the bench.

"Guru and Hemanth have done a great job so far and have been extremely crucial. But all the guys on the bench can do a similar job. Everyone trusts everyone on our team. We know the job that needs to be done," he said.

Meanwhile, the Chennai Blitz skipper Naveen Raja Jacob insisted that his side made only a few errors which cost them the matches.

"We have lost two games in a row. But we did our best in both games and only small errors changed the course of the match. We have been working on fixing those errors. We are practicing to rectify them," he said.

With only a few games left to cement a spot in the top four, Naveen talked about how important it is for Chennai to get the win against Hyderabad Black Hawks.

"We have to win the next match to get to the final. We will give 100 percent. Akhin has been recovering well and hopefully, he will be back on the court soon, which will help us get the much-needed win," he said.