Chennai: It was contrasting results for the two Kerala sides in the Prime Volleyball League on Friday with the Calicut Heroes picking up their second win of the season while the Kochi Blue Spikers completed a hat-trick of defeats at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
Jerome Vinith starred again as the Heroes defeated Delhi Toofans 15-8, 15-13, 16-14. In another match, the Bengaluru Torpedoes defeated the Blue Spikers 12-15, 16-14, 15-13, 13-15, 16-5 in a five-set thriller.
In the Heroes' match, Danial Aponza guarded Delhi's middle, but Danial Moatazedi's presence proved vital for the Calicut side. Both the middle blockers made useful contributions in attacks and the game remained on level terms. Jerome's fiery spikes and Chirag Yadav's clever attacks edged Calicut ahead in the contest.
Aponza's monstrous blocking provided Delhi an opening but Mohan Ukkrapandian kept setting Jerome up for spikes in dangerous zones as Calicut maintained control. Delhi did not help themselves with consecutive unforced errors while Luiz Perotto joined in on Calicut's attacks to take the game away from the opposition.
Aponza kept fighting the lone battle for Delhi, but the game remained a Calicut show. Santhosh started finding his feet in the attack and the Toofans showed signs of resistance. But Ukkra's clever service committed Delhi into making errors in reception. Calicut's huge gamble to call for a Super Point proved to be the right call as Vikas Maan deposited the ball in no man's zone with a spike. Danial and Jerome sealed the deal for Calicut with a win in straight sets.
Torpedoes edge Blue Spikers
Thomas Heptinstall's spikes from the right helped Bengaluru early on, but Erin Athos Ferreira and Krol Jan helped Kochi get ahead with solid play from the middle. Erin Varghese remained the biggest threat for the Torpedoes' defence, but Srajan and Mujeeb's blocking kept the game in balance. A crucial block from Athos pushed the Blues in front.
The unforced errors crept up on the Torpedoes, hurting their momentum. Heptinstall and Srajan's two-man block turned the switch on for Bengaluru. Abhinav fired up Kochi again with sensational showing from the middle with the attack, but Bengaluru employed a three-man block and brought themselves back to level terms.
Sethu started finding his feet in the game, forcing errors from Kochi with vicious attacks. Srajan's monstrous block left Coach David Lee impressed and Torpedoes turned the tide in their favour. Erin's sharply-angled spikes and thunderous play from the service line re-opened the doors for Kochi, and Jan Krol's super serve forced the game to the fifth set.
Mujeeb caused an uproar with magical play from the middle, while Heptinstall closed down Kochi's defence with attacks from the outside lines. Relentless Torpedoes' attacks gave no respite to the Blues and Bengaluru ran away in the final set to get the win.
(With agency inputs)