Kolkata Thunderbolts brush aside Chennai Blitz, enters the semifinals

Thunderbolts’ Ashwal Rai readies to smash past the Blitz defence in the Prime Volleyball League in Kochi, Kerala, on February 27.
| Photo Credit: H. VIBHU

There were no surprises as Kolkata Thunderbolts brushed aside Chennai Blitz 4-1 and qualified for the semifinals of the Prime Volleyball League at the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium here on Monday.

Kolkata, perhaps the strongest team with big names like attacker Ashwal Rai, universal Vinit Kumar and American outside hitter Cody Caldwell, dominated the match and settled the issue with a straight-set verdict and then went through the motions in the last two sets to complete the formalities of the PVL which has a few unique rules.

Kolkata is now second in the eight-team table with 10 points, behind Ahmedabad Defenders, while Chennai finished at the bottom of the table with one win which gave it two points.

With Ashwal serving out on super point, after picking two with a solid smash a moment earlier, Chennai closed in at 12-13 in the opening set. But Vinit with a nice smash steadied the boat.

The next set was close at the halfway mark but two smashes from the right and left flank helped Kolkata pull away.

The results: Kolkata Thunderbolts bt Chennai Blitz 4-1 (15-12, 15-9, 15-14, 15-13, 10-15)

Sunday’s late match: Mumbai Meteors bt Hyderabad Black Hawks 4-1 (14-15, 15-9, 15-12, 15-11, 15-8).