Chennai, March 3rd, 2024: Ahmedabad Defenders went to top of the table in the in the third season of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 with a 15-9, 6-15, 15-11, 15-7 win over Kochi Blue Spikers on Sunday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai. Nandhagopal was named the Player of the Match.

Reception errors from Kochi gave Ahmedabad an early push. But Athos led a three-man block to counter Nandhagopal and Kochi entered into the contest. Max Senica's attacks helped the Defenders but Erin Varghese' spikes kept the game levelled. Shikhar Singh justified selection with solid blocks and Nandha moved the game in Ahmedabad's favour with aggressive serving.

Aman Kumar and Jibin Sebastian provided attacking options to Kochi while Ahmedabad kept the attack going from the Defenders. Ahmedabad's defence left a lot to be desired and the Blues found themselves in a good position to level things up. A series of miscommunication among Ahmedabad players cost them a super point and Kochi gained momentum.

Athos did not allow Nandha or Max to get away their shots. Jibin's fiery spikes helped Kochi till Shon T John found his groove and turned the game on its head with allround display. Coach Dragan Mihailovic's strategy to place cross-court block on Jibin left the Kochi attacker without room to play his shots. Shon T's clever spikes kept Ahmedabad afloat and Santhosh closed out the game with thunderous serves to help his side get the crucial win.