Hyderabad: On Wednesday, Hyderabad Black Hawks started their home leg in the Prime Volleyball League with an impressive 3-2 victory (15-13, 10-15, 15-13, 15-6, 13-15) over Kochi Blue Spikers at the GMC Balayaogi Stadium, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, with P Hemanth (17) and skipper Guru Prashanth (12) leading the way.
The Deccan team took control of the game right from the start, securing their first point with an impressive smash from Vignesh Raj. The Hawks asserted their dominance and held a three-point advantage, with skipper Guru Prashanth, Trent O’Dea, and Hemanth attacking aggressively, maintaining the lead until the technical time-out at 11-8. Despite Kochi’s super point, the lead was cut to 10-11. With Wlate’s powerful smash, Kochi tied the score at 13-all. However, with Guru’s excellent serving and smashing abilities, Hyderabad managed to win the first set 15-13.
🧡 This is for you, Hyderabad. Thank you for the amazing support like always.#HBHvKBS #HawkAttack #HyderabadBlackHawks #PVL2023 #RuPayPrimeVolley #AsliVolleyball pic.twitter.com/8Fc7DGJOtd
— Hyderabad Black Hawks (@blackhawkshyd) February 15, 2023
In the second set, Kochi made a comeback and defeated Hyderabad 15-10. With his knowledge, Kochi captain Vipul Kumar, who had previously played for Hyderabad in season one, altered their strategy and overcame Hyderabad’s defence. Before Abhinav and Shubhaman of Kochi launched their attack, Hyderabad had a two-point lead to start the third set strong.
Guru’s contactless smash earned Hyderabad a super point following the technical time-out, enabling them to increase their advantage to three points at 13-10 and secure a 15-3 victory. Hemanth stole the show by scoring eight straight points to lead his team to victory in the fourth set with one set remaining. In the fifth set, Kochi was able to secure a consolation victory. Hyderabad is presently ranked third in the points standings with four points.
