PANAJI
Chennai Blitz defeated Goa Guardians 12-15, 15-11, 11-15, 18-16, 15-13 in the Prime Volleyball League at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, on Thursday. Jerome Vinith was named the Player of the Match.
Legendary Indian shooter and India's Olympic gold medal-winning athlete Abhinav Bindra was also in attendance and met with the players before the match.
It was a game of the merest of margins as both teams fought till the last minute. Goa Guardians started strong with Prince dominating the middle zone. Service pressure from Jeffrey Menzel tested Chennai. Tarun Gowda K provided much-needed inspiration to Chennai, as he fired a thunderous super serve. Jerome started finding his rhythm as the Blitz started shifting gears.
With the game levelled, Goa relied on Nathaniel Dickinson and Jeffrey Menzel to be the difference makers. Goa skipper Chirag kept a calm head to strategise defence against Jerome's ruthless attacks. Prince's icy cool blocking tilted the game once again in Goa's favour.
Menzel's consecutive aces set up the stage for the Guardians to run through the game, but late errors cost Goa. Chennai's Luiz Felipe Perotto made the most crucial super serve of the game, pushing the game to the fifth set.
The tables kept turning at each point. Dickinson earned a super point to push Goa ahead, while Suraj Chaudhary and Aditya Rana kept the Blitz in competition with solid defending. Jerome's fiery smash earned the Blitz a super point, but was immediately countered by Dickinson. At the last minute, Perotto and Suraj blocked Chirag to help Blitz claim a memorable 3-2 win.
