Hyderabad, Oct 4 (IANS) Shubham Chaudhary was named the Player of the Match as Mumbai Meteors executed a clinical 15-9, 15-13, 15-7 win over the hosts Hyderabad Black Hawks in Prime Volleyball League (PVL) at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad on Saturday.

Mumbai dominated with the serve early on, catching Hyderabad out of position on multiple occasions. Abhinav Salar’s super serve rocked Hyderabad’s defence. Hyderabad’s risky call of a super point did not yield the desired result as Shubham Chaudhary’s block helped Mumbai.

Paulo Lamounier distributed his passes between Niyas Abdul Salam and Sahil Kumar, who both provided quality attacking options. But Mumbai appeared to have done their homework, always employing a two-man block against the two attackers to give themselves the best possible defence.

Mathias Loftesnes joined in to complement Mumbai’s attacks, while Hyderabad brought on Guru to break through the opposition’s defence. But Mumbai continued to capitalise on the momentum with Shubham’s relentless attacks.

Lamounier began setting up pipe attacks with John Joseph on the court as the Black Hawks tried to find a way back. But Hyderabad struggled against Abhinav’s final set service run, as the Mumbai blocker made two quick super serves, and two more aces to tilt the game completely in Mumbai’s favour. The Meteors dominated throughout the game to get a 3-0 win.

Hyderabad Black Hawks launched their campaign in Season 4 of the PVL, defeating the Calicut Heroes 15-12, 18-16, 18-16 in the enthralling opener at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Thursday. Paulo Lamounier was named the Player of the Match.

Calicut’s Vikas Maan’s impressive blocking shut down Hyderabad’s attacks early on. Coach Sunny Joseph’s strategy of giving Rajasthan’s Ashok Bishnoi a starting spot worked in Calicut’s favour, as the attacker helped his side with an aggressive display. Sahil Kumar began the counter-attack to bring the hosts back in the game. Calicut’s inconsistencies with first touch affected their momentum, and the Hawks took the lead.

–IANS

bsk/