Kochi: Ahmedabad Defenders have become the first team to enter the semifinals of the Prime Volleyball League with a thrilling comeback win (15-5, 11-15, 9-15, 15-12, 15-14) over the Kochi Blue Spikers at the Regional Sports Centre here on Sunday. Nandagopal was named the player of the match.
Ahmedabad got their middle firing from the very first moment as skipper Muthusamy Appavu set up LM Manoj. Manoj's two-man block line along with Nandagopal showcased Ahmedabad's defensive prowess.
Erin's dangerous play from the service line gave the home crowd a ray of hope. But Manoj kept blocking Shubham Chaudhary and the Defenders took control. Nandagopal and Angamuthu started leading Ahmedabad's attack, and Kochi faced a lapse in communication, leading to unforced errors.
With Ahmedabad reading Shubham well, the Spikers sent George Antony and Jibin Sebastian to the court and Kochi's attacks improved. The presence of the duo also opened up Erin to be more aggressive with his spikes and Kochi found a way back.
Serve errors from Ahmedabad did not help their cause. Abhinav started leading Kochi's block line and they put a halt to Danialand Angamuthu. There was a real change in energy with Jibin controlling Kochi's middle and Erin leading attacks from the service line, and Kochi took control of the match.
Angamuthu started going cross-court with Muthusamy setting him up wide and high and Ahmedabad began getting back to life. Manoj and Santhosh kept finding ways to make blocks and Ahmedabad pushed the match to the fifth set.
As George and Jibin started getting more of the ball, Kochi soared. Muthusamy switched position to lead the block line and the Defenders found an opening. Danial came to life and made monster blocks, while Angamuthu shut down the doors on Kochi with a spike as Ahmedabad picked another win to confirm playoffs spot.
Kolkata Thunderbolts will be up against Chennai Blitz on Monday.
