A spirited comeback from Calicut Heroes earned them a 4-1 (10-15, 15-9, 15-8, 15-14, 15-11) victory over debutants Mumbai Meteors in match two of RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23 Season 2 at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, February 5.
After the score in the first set was tied 2-2, Mumbai Meteors capitalised on a service error from Calicut Heroes to take the lead. Captain Karthik A and Hiroshi Centelles were at the forefront of the attack as their important spikes and blocks helped the Meteors to win the set 15-10.
However, Kishor Kumar’s Calicut Heroes snatched the game's momentum with a dominant performance in the second set. After Rahman Shafeeq’s spike brought the score to 7-7, points came in quickly for Calicut as middle blocker Jose Antonio Sandoval’s spikes and blocking set his side on course to win the set 15-9.
Sandoval, Jerome Vinith, M Ashwin Raj and Shafeeq registered a spike each as Calicut Heroes rallied to an 8-4 lead in the third set. They didn’t leave any room for Mumbai Meteors to mount a counter-attack as the Men in Red won the set 15-8 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The highlight of this set was Sandoval’s block at 12-8 to earn a Super Point, which took the score to 14-8.
A block and spike from Jose Antonio Sandoval opened the proceedings for Calicut in the fourth set. Now completely on the back foot, Mumbai overturned a 10-12 deficit to make it 12-12 thanks to a successful Super Serve from skipper Karthik. The score went to 13-13 and 14-14, but a tip touch from Mohan Ukkrapandian sealed the set (15-14) and match (3-1) for Calicut Heroes.
Yet another one-sided showing saw Calicut Heroes pocket the final set 15-11 as Mumbai Meteors committed a net touch error at the end.
Jose Antonio Sandoval’s match-defining display of 12 attack points and six blocks earned him the Player of the Match award.
The Cuban middle blocker was an all-round presence in the Calicut half, whether defending or scoring points. His 18-point tally got the Calicut Heroes supporters roaring with joy and served as a catalyst for the team to assert dominance in the fixture.
The upcoming fixture sees Season 1 finalists Ahmedabad Defenders face Hyderabad Black Hawks in match 3 on Monday, February 6.
The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM IST and will be telecast live on the Sony Sports Network & Sony LIV. Volleyball World will provide the Prime Volleyball League coverage for the international audience.
