On Sunday, March 5, the Ahmedabad Defenders won the Prime Volleyball League’s second season with a 15-7, 15-10, 18-20, 13-15, 15-10 victory over the Bengaluru Torpedoes at the Regional Sports Centre in Kochi. Angamuthu was named match winner for his dominant performance.
LM Manoj and Nandhagopal worked together early on to stop Bengaluru’s attacks. As Ibin and Pankaj became involved in attacks, the Torpedoes demonstrated that they were ready to fight. Despite Angamuthu’s constant attacks, the Defenders maintained their cool. Ahmedabad drew block errors from the Torpedoes and built a comfortable lead as skipper Muthusamy Appavu began setting up Danial and Manoj.
With service pressure building, the Torpedoes struggled to run their attacking plays from the middle. Ahmedabad’s in-form defence tackled well with Bengaluru’s attack, while Angamuthu and Santhosh dismantled the Torpedoes’ momentum.
Just when it appeared that Ahmedabad would take the lead, Sethu’s magic from the service line brought Bengaluru back into the game. Danial’s powerful spikes nearly ended the show. But Bengaluru hung on, drawing errors from Ahmedabad.
Abalooch tried to use his height to bully Santhosh, but the dual block line of Santhosh and Manoj kept making crucial blocks for Ahmedabad. But with a block on Mujeeb and a magical super-serve, the Torpedoes truly brought the contest back to level pegging and pushed the match to the fifth set.
In the final set, the battle between Danial and Jishnu in the middle raged on. Abalooch’s deft block reintroduced Bengaluru into the see-saw battle. Angamuthu’s spikes continued to put the Torpedoes’ defence to the test. Santhosh’s soft super-serve ended the match, and the Defenders closed out the final set to win the trophy.