Kochi Blue Spikers recorded its first win in three matches outslugging Chennai Blitz 15-12, 15-11, 14-15, 12-15, 15-10 in the Rupay Prime Volleyball League championship at the GMC Balayogi Stadium (Gachibowli) here on Wednesday.
With a fourth straight loss in as many games, Blitz’s campaign has effectively ended in the league while Spikers have kept their hopes alive.
Player-of-the-match Cody Coldwel drew from his experience to come up with a vintage display combining power and precision and more importantly excelled with some stunning blocks too.
Spikers was off to a dominating start thanks to the brilliant coordination shown by Raheem, Coldwel and A. Karthik as they repeatedly rattled the rival defence by mixing up big spikes and lovely placements.
Spikers was off to a dominating start thanks to the brilliant coordination shown by Raheem, Coldwel and A. Karthik as they repeatedly rattled the rival defence by mixing up big spikes and lovely placements.
Bouncing back
Blitz came back strongly, winning the third and fourth sets, thanks to outstanding performances by Fernando David Gonzalez, G.S. Akhin and Naveen Jacob Raja. Setter P. Prashant came with some splendid blocks in the company of the tallest player of the day G.R. Vaishnav.
With Abdul Raheem, Erin Varghese being a perfect foil to him, Coldwel’s outstanding show in the final set helped Spikers finish as a deserving winner.
The result: Kochi Blue Spikers bt Chennai Blitz 15-12, 15-11, 14-15, 12-15, 15-10.
Thursday’s matches: Chennai Blitz vs Calicut Heroes 7 p.m.; Ahmedabad Defenders vs Bengaluru Torpedoes 9 p.m.
