Kochi crushes Mumbai, does Bengaluru a big favour

Kochi Blue Spikers’ Abhinav goes for a smash in the match against Mumbai Meteors in the Prime Volleyball League Championship in Kochi, Kerala, on March 01, 2023.
| Photo Credit: H. VIBHU

They did not make it to the playoffs but Kochi Blue Spikers did Olympian David Lee and his team Bengaluru Torpedoes a huge favour by thrashing Mumbai Meteors 4-1 in the Prime Volleyball League at the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium on Wednesday.

Mumbai needed to win 5-0 to grab a semifinal spot and Kochi’s victory saw Bengaluru take the last available berth and join Ahmedabad Defenders, Kolkata Thunderbolts and Calicut Heroes.

On a day when super points and super serves brought in some strange twists and turns, all the pieces of the puzzle fell in nicely for Kochi.

The day also international Rohit Kumar, the PVL’s most expensive player, find his touch and the attacker was at his best in the second set where he helped Kochi to a 11-6 lead which made the team breathe easy. Rohit had been benched for a major part of the previous match but today, apart from his fiery smashes from the middle, he also served an ace which brought two points under the PVL’s special rules.

International Amit Gulia was Mumbai’s key to victory but Kochi locked the star attacker at crucial stages with a two-man block, with Shubam Chaudhary taking turns with Brazilian Walter Netto and B.S. Abhinav to do the job.

The home team’s Erin Varghese, who attacked from the flanks using setter Vipul Kumar’s nice lifts, stood out in the first set and in the third, where Mumbai led 10-7 at one stage, N.K. Fayis with an ace serve brought Kochi to the doorstep of victory at 14-12.

With Kochi taking a 3-0 lead, the last two sets did not matter at all. Bengaluru finished fourth in the league table with eight points while Kochi finished seventh with four points from two wins.

The result: Kochi Blue Spikers bt Mumbai Meteors 4-1 (15-14, 15-11, 15-12, 12-15, 15-10).