Ahmedabad Defenders recorded its third straight win, outplaying Hyderabad Black Hawks 15-13, 15-10, 15-12, 15-8, 9-15, in the Rupay Prime Volleyball League championship at the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday.
For Hawks, it was the first loss in two games.
Rohit Kumar, P.V. Jishnu and Louis Antonio Arias combined well to come up with some telling smashes for Black Hawks.
But in the crucial final moments, the power of Shon T. John and the class of captain A. Muthusamy, who once leapt in the air to fake a spike only to roll the ball into the gap in the centre court was a delight to watch, saw Defenders take the first set.
In the second set, Defenders maintained a slender two-point lead as Angamuthu made his presence felt with some powerful spiking. The third set saw the defenders Muthusamy, Manoj and Ryan Meehan come into their own; libero S. Prabhakaran also shone.
Though Hawks won the super point at 10-11 through Louis’ spike, Defenders won the next super point, thanks to a super block from Muthusamy, who also ensured that his team won the next two points and wrapped up the set and match.
The result: Ahmedabad Defenders bt Hyderabad Black Hawks 15-13, 15-10, 15-12, 15-8, 9-15.
Friday’s matches: Bengaluru Torpedoes vs Black Hawks (7 p.m.); Chennai Blitz vs Kolkata Thunderbolts (9 p.m.).
