Kochi, February 6th 2019: Day 5 of the RuPay Pro Volleyball League saw Kochi Blue Spikers edge passt the resilient Ahmedabad Defenders 10-15, 15-11, 11-15,15-12, 15-12 at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.
For Kochi it was Olympic Gold Medalist David Lee who scored 10 points (7 spikes, 2 blocks and 1 serve point).
On the other hand, it was Victor Sysoev who was the stand-out performer for Ahmedabad Defenders with 13 points (11 spikes and 2 blocks) to his name.
The #BlueRises - 2⃣ wins from 2⃣for @KBS_VC ! #Kochikaraney #RuPayPVL #ThrillKaCall pic.twitter.com/31NLUzB72T
— Pro Volleyball (@ProVolleyballIN) February 6, 2019
Ahmedabad started the first set with a flurry of points with Gurinder Singh hitting three spikes and one block to give his team a 4-0 lead. Riding on the momentum Ahmedabad called for a Super Point at 5-1 and converted the same in style as Mandeep Singh landed a Super Serve to increase the lead to 7-1.
After trailing at 3-8 at the Technical Time Out (TTO), Kochi came out with fire in their belly clinching two consecutive points. Rightly they called for a Super Point but lost the conversion opportunity owing to a block by Victor Sysoev. Kochi looked as if they will stage a comeback as the lead was narrowed down to 13-10 but Ahmedabad made sure that didn't happen and closed the set 15-10.
The second set looked more of a competition as both the teams were matching each other move after move. At 7-7 Kochi called for a Super Point and a won it going into the TTO at 9-7. Kochi continued with their attacking game as David Lee and Andrej Patuc with combined points from spike and serve helped Kochi increase their lead to 14-11. Manu Joseph added the finishing touch with a spike, as Kochi won the set 15-11.
Kochi continued from where the left in the last set as they raced to a 5-2 lead with Lee, Patuc and Joseph again the architects of the lead. Ahmedabad showed resilience and levelled the score at 7-7 but an error at the net by Novica Bjelica gave Kochi a point advantage at TTO.
Post TTO, it was a hard-fought battle till 11-11 before Kochi called for a Super Point and Ahmedabad broke their serve to gain the advantage. Immediately, seeing the opening Ahmedabad called for a Super Point and Sysoev's well timed block helped his team win the set 15-11 and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
In the fourth set Ahmedabad really looked positive and went into an 8-4 lead. At 8-4 Ahmedabad called for a Super Point and missed the opportunity. Immediately Kochi called for a Super Point and converted to level the score at 8-8. Till the very end it looked like anyone's set before two consecutive points by Kochi at 13-12 helped them close the set at 15-12 and match went into a decider.
In the decider, Kochi looked like running away with the match as they established a 6-1 lead with the help of one super serve and a serve point by Ukkrapandian.
Leading from the front.. AGAIN! Well played @UkkrapandianM, the @RuPay_npci Player of the Match for today! @KBS_VC #Kochikaraney #RuPayPVL #ThrillKaCall pic.twitter.com/A8Qhqcy7jL
— Pro Volleyball (@ProVolleyballIN) February 6, 2019
Ahmedabad, with their never say die attitude staged a comeback and reduced the deficit to 7-8. Kochi who seemed like losing steam, now took the initiative in their hands and a Super Serve by K Praveen Kumar gave his team a four-point lead at 11-7.
Kochi wanting to end the game in a hurry called for a Super Point, but lost the opportunity. The set was heading towards a nail-biting finish with the score at 11-10 in favour of Kochi. In the end, Kochi held on to their nerves as an error on serve by Ranjit Singh gave Kochi the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
(Source: Pro Volleyball India Media)