Hyderabad: Akhin GS and Naveen Raja Jacob helped Chennai Blitz win their last match of the Rupee Prime Volleyball League. Chennai beat Bangalore Torpedoes 9-15, 15-12, 15-13, 15-9, 12-15 in a match played at the Gatchibauli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. Despite missing the semi-finals, Chennai ended the league with a win. Chennai have won two of their last six matches. Akhin GS of Chennai Blitz was selected as the star of the match.
Some unnecessary errors by Chennai Blitz gave Bengaluru Torpedoes a 7-3 lead in the first set. Pankaj Sharma and Rohit performed well. Bangalore won the first set 15-9 thanks to a super serve by Sarang Shantilal. Bangalore dominated the second set 7-2 with two excellent spikes from Pankaj. However, Chennai Blitz fought back with a superb serve from Fernando Gonzalez to take a 10-9 lead. Akhin’s smashed smash gave Chennai the lead. Finally, the Blitz finished the second set 15-12 and returned to the match.
Akhin’s brilliant spike gave Chennai a 7-5 lead in the third set. Bangalore took a 9-8 lead with the help of Pankaj Sharma and Ranjit Singh. Blitz came back with Naveen Raja Jacob in the lead, giving Chennai a 14-13 lead and a 15-13 third set.
In the fourth set, Naveen Raja Jacob and Bruno de Silva led Chennai to an 8-6 lead. Akhin’s spike gave Chennai a super point. Lovemeet Kataria tried to keep Bangalore in the match but could not stop Chennai’s leap. Bangalore surrendered 15-9. The two teams battled hard and drew 8-8 in the final set. After losing a serve to Jobin Varghese, Bangalore took a 13-12 lead. Bengaluru torpedoes ended the fight by winning another set after a smashing spike by Kyle Front.
Calicut Heroes will take on Hyderabad Black Hawks on Monday at 6.50 pm. Victory is essential for the Heroes to maintain their semi-probability.