Bengaluru, Feb 12 (IANS) Bengaluru Torpedoes registered a convincing 4-1 win over Mumbai Meteors in the ongoing Prime Volleyball League at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium, here on Sunday.
The 4-1 victory (15-10, 12-15, 15-13, 15-9, 15-9) put Bengaluru on the fourth spot amongst the eight teams in the points table but more importantly instilled the much-required confidence in the star-studded team before they head for away matches in Hyderabad and Kochi.
The first set saw the home team dominating the proceedings from the word ‘go’ and established an early 4-2 lead before a semblance of a fightback came from the visitors.
Leading 11-9, the hosts went for the kill, opting for the super point and winning it. Brilliant serves by Bulgarian import Tsvetelin Tsvetanov and blocking by Mujeeb MC helped them to a 15-10 victory.
The second set saw Mumbai taking the lead for the first time in the match when they led 6-5. Trailing 8-10, Bengaluru opted for the super point and won to level the scores. Mumbai too won their super point and went ahead 13-11 and were serving for the set. The Torpedoes pulled back one but could not stop Mumbai from taking the second set 15-12.
The third set began on an even keel before Mumbao Meteors dominated the third set and took a 11-8 lead. However, Bengaluru came back very strongly winning both the super points to go ahead and thanks to some superb blocking by Ibin Jose and spikes by Tsvetanov, they won the set 15-13 to take a 2-1 lead.
Buoyed by the success, Torpedoes opened up a 4-1 lead. Their rivals traded some excellent rallies but the closest they could come was within a single point when they trailed 6-7.
Leading 11-7, Bengaluru won their super point to lead 13-7 and reduced the set to a formality before winning 15-9. Tsvetanov deservedly also won the Player of the Match award.
Bengaluru Torpedoes will now take on Chennai Blitz on February 16 in Hyderabad.
–IANS
ak/
