Kolkata Thunderbolts keeps Super 5 hopes alive

CHENNAI: Kolkata Thunderbolts picked up its second win on Thursday, going past the Hyderabad Black Hawks with a dominant 15-8, 15-8, 11-15, 20-18 win in the third season of the Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai. Vinit Kumar was named the Player of the Match.

Stefan Kovacevic fired from the middle for Hyderabad early on. But Vinit shook up Hawks’ defence with aggressive serves. Onur Cukur kept setting up attackers with impeccable passing, and the Thunderbolts took charge. Ashwal Rai joined the action keeping Kolkata on the right path, while Hemanth and Stefan earned crucial points to showcase Hyderabad’s resistance.

The Hawks missed Ivan Jose as Sahil Kumar, who received his first start, struggled to get going. David Kisiel made useful contributions in attack and defence, and the Thunderbolts took control. Ashamat Ullah and Sahil started finding their rhythm with attacks as the Hawks showed moments of resurgence. Prince, too, made solid blocks to tackle Vinit’s threat from the middle. Despite Ashwal’s clever blocks, Hyderabad got back into the contest with Stefan’s superb defensive play.

The intensity on the turf increased as Hyderabad began to find ways to get back. Amit’s useful contributions and Ashwal’s intense play from the middle kept Kolkata ahead. Prince’s monstrous blocks posed a challenge for Kolkata, but unforced errors proved costly for Hyderabad and the Thunderbolts closed out the game with a solid win.