Pro Volleyball League: Hawks down Defenders in thriller

Kochi: After a couple of more or less one-sided encounters the Pro Volleyball League finally had a proper five-set battle in which the underdogs Black Hawks Hyderabad prevailed 3-2 against a lacklusture Ahmedabad Defenders here Monday.

A game that was littered by a myriad of errors on either sides was eventually decided by the Black Hawks resilience. The Defenders led by the league’s costliest player, Ranjit Singh, was equally guilty of underestimating the firepower of their modest opposition.

For Hyderabad American attacker Carson Clark proved to be a handful with his cut shots from Muthusamy’s thoughtful back sets while Ashwal Rai’s fighting instincts came handy in crucial periods. “We are such a young team and it was our desire that got us the win today,” said Hyderabad's captain Carson Clark. “But I want us to not over celebrate this win because what really matters is to win in the end, the tournament,” said the American.

Ahmedabad had trailed for most part of the first set and even though they secured one of the two super-points and a contentious super-serve that fetched them four points they failed to match Hyderabad’s desire.

The Defenders made a forceful start to the second set and central to their resurgence was Gurinder Singh’s fighting spirit. For a short period they managed to deal with Carson’s left-handed crossfire, but a resilient Black Hawks bounced back with four points in between a Bjelica spike as they levelled the tie at 13. Victor Sysoev sealed the set in favour of the Defenders with a powerful hit.

Hyderabad went through the gears rapidly and established an eight-point lead in no time. Ashwal Rai was rampant, lapping up as many as four spike points. However, the Black Hawks could not capitalise on it and themselves cut a passage for the opponents to crawl back in. Gagandeep Sayyad Mubarak Ali joined forces to reduce the deficit but a pair of Ashwal kills had Hyderabad back in front.

Desperate to force a decider, the Defenders made a purposeful start and their Russian attacker Sysoev found his rhythm when it mattered. But normal service resumed and the team with the advantage slipped up, allowing Hyderabad to draw level at 13 from a precarious 7-12. Enter Sayyad Mubarak Ali, and a hat-trick of spikes got the crowd what they had desired – a meaningful fifth set.

There however, was not enough left in the tank for Ahmedabad to make one final push and Hyderabad persevered.