Calicut Heroes recorded its first win in three matches defeating Bengaluru Torpedoes 15-12, 15-12, 15-9, 14-15, 15-13 in the Rupay Prime Volleyball League championship at the GMC Balayogi Stadium (Gachibowli) in Hyderabad on Monday.
The presence of Olympian David Lee gave Heroes a reassuring touch in the forecourt as he played a significant role in the company of the consistent duo of M.V. Sujan Lal and M.C. Mujeeb in defence.
Lee, later along with Aaron Koubi, showed his class repeatedly, not just with power but the ease with which he placed the ball into the vacant spots with his finger-touch.
Heroes were clearly the more dominant side with captain Jerome Vinith, who was player of the match, yet again revelling with his awesome spiking. , mostly from the right corner of the forecourt.
Torpedoes put up a fight in the first three sets, thanks primarily due to the brilliance of Pankaj Sharma and captain Ranjith Singh as setter, but it was Sarang Shantilal, who was the surprise as an attacker.
What clearly decided the issue in Heroes’ favour was the consistency in picking up points with the ever-reliable and powerful Ajith Lal coming up with his trademark spikes and unsettling the Torpedoes defence where even someone like P. Rohit struggled.
The consolation for Torpedoes was it won the fourth set in a closely-fought battle. With the scores tied 14-all, Heroes’ Jerome served into the net to provide some cheer in what was otherwise a disappointing evening for Torpedoes.
For Torpedoes, this was the second loss in four games.
The result: Calicut Heroes bt Bengaluru Torpedoes 15-12, 15-12, 15-9, 14-15, 15-13.
Tuesday’s match: Kolkata Thunderbolts v Hyderabad Black Hawks, 7 p.m.
