Prime Volleyball League 2024: Calicut Heroes pip Ahmedabad Heroes to the top, Chennai Blitz keep Super 5s hopes alive

Jerome Vinith shines as Calicut Edges Ahmedabad in tight encounter

Calicut Heroes sealed a comprehensive 15-11, 8-15, 15-8, 15-11 win over the Ahmedabad Defenders to stay in the hunt for the Super 5s in the third season of the Prime Volleyball League 2024 powered by A23 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai on Friday. Jerome Vinith was named the Player of the Match.

The battle of outside hitters kicked off the encounter in high gear with Max Senica firing for Ahmedabad, while Chirag Yadav kept the game balanced. Senica’s aggressive serves provided the Defenders a chance to push forward. But Perotto’s super serve kept Calicut levelled, and Jerome smashes helped Calicut get an early lead.

Angamuthu and Nandhagopal added fuel to their attacks, as the defending champions started making their way back. Angamuthu returned to his best form on the night, and kept beating the Calicut blockers. Muthusamy’s super serve stunned the Calicut defence and Ahmedabad bounced back in style.

Chirag stepped up for Calicut, as he began making powerful smashes to trouble Ahmedabad’s defence. Danial’s presence in the middle made it harder for Ahmedabad to play freely. 

A couple of errors from Nandha helped the game turn in Calicut’s favour, and with Ukkrapandia’s clever play, the wheels began coming off for Ahmedabad. Chirag’s pipe attack proved hard for Manoj to tackle, while the Defenders did not help themselves with unforced errors. Vikas Maan’s blocks shackled Ahmedabad, and Ukkra helped his side in defence. Jerome continued his great form to help his team seal the win.

Chennai Blitz kept their Super 5s hopes alive with a commanding 16-14, 15-11, 15-13 win over the Bengaluru Torpedoes with Dhilip Kumar earning Player of the Match.

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Raman Kumar and Dhilip Kumar provided Chennai an edge, while the Torpedoes tred to counter the attacking threat through Mujeeb’s blocks. Chennai’s strategy to keep Sethu off the baseline helped them control play and Leandro Jose’s super served helped the home side. Coach Dakshinamoorthy’s combination play involving Joe, Akhin and Dhilip helped Chennai take an early lead.

Despite Ibin’s firing power, the Torpedoes kept finding themselves trailing, with unforced errors hurting their momentum. Leandro found another Super Serve to rock Bengaluru’s defence and the Blitz found themselves in complete control. Sethu’s spikes left a lot to be desired on the night and the Blitz maintained their dominance.

Chennai relied on Leandro’s big arm on the night to provide fire in the middle, despite Jishnu proving to be a good substitute blocker for Bengaluru again. Mujeeb began turning things around for Bengaluru with all-round display, reigniting his side’s hopes. But Akhin’s presence in the middle kept the momentum stable for Chennai. Despite Ibin’s aggressive play from the service line, Chennai earned the win in straight sets.

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