Kolkata Thunderbolts produced a clinical display to outsmart Calicut Heroes with a 16-14, 15-10, 17-15 win in the second semifinal of the Rupay Prime Volleyball League championship at GMC Balayogi Stadium (Gachibowli) in Hyderabad on Friday.
Thunderbolts will take on Ahmedabad Defenders in the summit clash on Sunday. Saturday is a rest day.
Spirited comeback
It was Heroes who led 10-7 in the first set thanks to the combine of David Lee, captain Jerome Vinith and Ajith Lal only to see a spirited comeback by Thunderbolts for whom Ashwal Rai produced two impressive spikes at a critical juncture to level the scores at 14.
Then to the dismay of Heroes, Jerome’s spike went out and Rahul came up with a booming serve to clinch the set for Thunderbolts.
In the second set, it was Heroes again who were off to a good start again taking a 4-1 lead before the brilliance of Ashwal Rai and a terrific show of power and smart play by Mathew August saw Thunderbolts dominate the latter half of the set with setter Janshad lending admirable support.
With Vinit Kumar complementing Mathew with his awesome spikes, Thunderbolts won the second set comfortably. The third set saw Heroes take a convincing 7-0 lead in a hurry with Lee and Jerome excelling with their double blocks too besides coming up with big smashes.
Then, there was a turn around with Thunderbolts’ Ashwal showing his class at the net and Rahul again coming up with big serves.
Ironically, the ever-reliable Lee committed a net-fault in his attempt to block a Vinit spike at 15-16 to signal Thunderbolts’ emphatic win.
Vinit Kumar and Janshad were adjudged joint-winners of ‘Player-of-the-match’.
The result: Second semifinal: Kolkata Thunderbolts bt Calicut Heroes 16-14, 15-10, 17-15.
