A much-needed win for Calicut Heroes

Calicut Heroes raised the bar under pressure to record a 15-12, 15-9, 9-15, 9-15, 15-11 win over Kochi Blue Spikers and keep its hopes of alive making it to the knock-out phase in the Rupay Prime Volleyball League championship at GMC Balayogi Stadium (Gachibowli) here on Friday.

Playing a must-win game after three losses from four previous games, Heroes was off to a confident start winning the first two sets thanks to the awesome striking prowess of captain Jerome Vinith, M.C. Mujeeb and Ajith Lal with setter Sujan Lal proving to be an admirable foil.

Roaring back

If Heroes thought it would be a cakewalk it was not to be as a rejuvenated Spikers came back into the contest to Erin Varghese, Deepesh Kumar, and Abdul Raheem showing the desired coordination. Spikers won the next two sets to take the issue into the decider.

Despite Jerome not playing in the final set, Heroes showed the needed fighting qualities to break away after the scores were tied quite a few times. Abhil Krishnan ensured Jerome’s absence was not felt as he picked gaps by combining power and precision. Thanks to him, Heroes won the crucial super point at 11-10 to make it 13-10.

And, to the delight of the Heroes’ camp, Spikers’ Raheem served into the net and soon Ajith Lal came up with his trademark spike to clinch the set and the match.

For Spikers, this was third loss in four games.

The result: Calicut Heroes bt Kochi Blue Spikers 15-12, 15-9, 9-15, 9-15, 15-11.

Saturday’s match: Kolkata Thunderbolts vs Ahmedabad Defenders, 7 p.m.