Bengaluru Torpedoes picked up their first win of the second season of the Prime Volleyball League, when they defeated the Mumbai Meteors 15-10, 12-15, 15-13, 15-9, 15-9 here at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. Tsvetelin Tsvetanov was named the 'Player of the Match'.
Wary of not committing errors, the Torpedoes began the play with soft serves, while Tsvetanov and Mujbeeb kept making spikes to win points. A cagey Mumbai lacked effective communication in the middle as Anu James' spikes kept getting blocked by Bengaluru skipper Pankaj Sharma.
When libero Ratheesh started getting more involved in the middle, the Meteors started finding their footing in the game with Hardeep's attacking display. But Ibin Jose kept finding spaces to target and kept Bengaluru in control.
With scrappy, untidy play, Meteors skipper Karthik and Brandon Greenway found it hard to block Tsvetanov's deadly spikes. But when Mumbai slowed down, Hardeep started dominating on the ball, tilting the balance of the game. After Hardeep made a couple of defensive errors, Meteors Head Coach Sunny Joseph sent in Abdul Raheem and Jithin N. The change in structure rattled Torpedoes until Tsvetanov once again brought composure and Torpedoes regained control.
An under-pressure Mumbai struggled defensively with skipper Karthik not having the best of nights, and Ibin, Mujeeb, and Tsvetanov continued to have a field day with powerful spikes. With the game slipping from their hands, the Meteors made unforced errors. Tsvetanov made the most of Mumbai's struggles and helped Bengaluru Torpedoes pick a 4-1 win.
Hyderabad Black Hawks will be up against Kochi Blue Spikers at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on the opening day of the Hyderabad leg of the Prime Volleyball League from 1900 hrs IST on Wednesday.
( With inputs from ANI )
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