Defending champions Kolkata Thunderbolts asserted their dominance in style against Hyderabad Black Hawks, winning the game 4-1 (15-13, 15-7, 15-9, 15-12, 8-15) in Match 5 of RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23 Season 2 at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, February 8.

The Thunderbolts looked so confident during the game that it seemed like they came up with only one plan, which was to win and they did that with absolute perfection.

As far as the Black Hawks are concerned, the only legibility they asserted was in the first set, which was, in fact. During the first round, Hyderabad managed some scintillating blocks, but as it turns out, Kolkata simply had more firepower.

With that being said, here we look at three talking points from Kolkata Thunderbolts’ thumping win over Hyderabad Black Hawks.

Hyderabad need more in attack

For what it’s worth, Hyderabad are known for their defensive stability. While they did a commendable job in blocking Kolkata’s early attack, as the game progressed, their ability faded to an extent that the ball more often than not brushed their fingertips only to give Kolkata the advantage.

The intensity of the attack between the two teams was evident right from the very beginning as Hyderabad scuffled to cope with the constant pressure. The Guru Prasanth-led team simply had no answers to everything that was thrown at them.

Defence wins you titles

It’s often said in sports that while attack wins you games, defence wins you titles. This is exactly what Kolkata worked upon early on and this is exactly where they came out on top against Hyderabad. It was mostly noticeable in the first set when Hyderabad tested Kolkata’s resilience.

For almost every trickery Hyderabad had in their kitty, be it their ferocious strikes or constant blocks, Kolkata had the answers to them. They knew exactly where Hyderabad would stumble and it was their precision that did the trick.

Cody Caldwell brings luck

While it did not seem like Kolkata would need luck at any point of the game, Cody Caldwell’s performance was key to Kolkata’s dominance. The former NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player tallied five important points in attack and was equally crucial in defence. In all fairness, his performance went under the radar thanks to Vinit Kumar’s brilliant performance.

By the end, Caldwell ended his tenure with nine points and was only behind Vinit Kumar, Rai Ashwal and Rahul K.