Prime Volleyball League 2024: Delhi Toofans upsets Ahmedabad Defenders, Calicut Heroes clinch top spot

Thrilling finishes as Super 5s take shape

Delhi Toofans stunned the Ahmedabad Defenders with a 15-11, 16-14, 15-12 win in the third season of Prime Volleyball League 2024 powered by A23 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, to finish in the second spot in the league stage. Lazar Dodic was named the Player of the Match.

Delhi Toofans began well with Santhosh attacking well. But Angamuthu roared back with spikes to keep the scores levelled. Rohit Kumar put a critical block on Nandha to push Delhi ahead. Ahmedabad libero Srikanth made an error in reception, resulting in his side losing a super point. Despite Max Senica performing well from Zone 4, the Toofans managed to take an early lead.

Angamuthu began scoring points with powerful spikes to bring his side back into the contest. But service errors continued to hurt Ahmedabad’s momentum. Ahmedabad made the most of a couple of miscommunications from Delhi to keep the door opened for a comeback. But Lazar Dodic and Rohit Kumar kept Delhi’s attacks going, helping the Toofans regain control.

Confident Delhi continued to dominate as Amal’s super served rocked Ahmedabad’s defence. Shon T’s presence added new flair to Ahmedabad’s attacks but Muthu’s wayward passes and Ahmedabad’s net touch errors hurt the defending Champions on the night. Ayush finished off the game with a solid spike, helping the Toofans to enter Super 5s with a second-placed finish.

Earlier in the day Calicut Heroes claimed top spot with a dominant 15-13, 15-13, 15-12 win over the Chennai Blitz at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai. Chennai Blitz were knocked out of the competition with the loss, and Mumbai Meteors booked the final spot in the Super 5s. Jerome Vinith was named the Player of the Match.

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Calicut Heroes relied early on Mohan Ukkrapandian to set up the attacks, and he tricked Chennai by passing ball to his middle blockers Danial and Vikas. Chennai counter attacked with Dhilip spiking from Zone 2. Joel’s super served helped Blitz but Jerome’s fiery spikes kept the game levelled. The Calicut skipper rocked Blitz’ defence and Calicut Heroes took an early lead.

Ukkra kept passing the ball to Jerome with the Calicut skipper breathing fire with his attacks. Perotto started serving aggressively and Calicut maintained their momentum. Despite moments of brilliance from Joel and Dhilip, Chennai found it hard to tackle Calicut’s relentless attacks. With Vikas’ allround play from the middle, Calicut took control.

An untimely injury to libero Rama forced Chennai to bring on Praba, and Calicut immediately began targeting the substitute libero with aggressive serves. An insipid Chennai defence struggled to tackle Jerome’s threat, but the home side showcased their fighting spirit in spades. But Jerome was unstoppable on the night, and helped his side close out the game in straight sets.

Watch the LIVE coverage of RuPay Prime Volleyball League Season 3 from 15th February 2024, 6:30 PM onwards, only on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu).

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