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Defending champions Kerala were made to sweat by Haryana before prevailing 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17 in an absorbing Group A men’s league match at the 61st Senior National Volleyball Championship at the Sawai Man Singh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur.
Kerala entered the 2013 edition with a lot of young legs in their side. The team, featuring only two internationals – Vibin M. George and Tom Joseph, were up against a determined Haryana outfit, who offered stiff resistance throughout the match.
Kerala, who are without the star performer of the 2012 edition, Manu Joseph, who has switched to Railways, bagged the closely-fought opening set at 25-19, before Haryana clawed their way back to level things, winning the second set 25-22 to put the onus on the reigning champions to dig deep into their reserves.
The third set was a really down-to-the-wire affair and Haryana were little unfortunate to concede it 23-25 – in fact, poor serving let them down.
Kerala, who have won the national championship four times, maintained their composure in the fourth set and closed it at 25-17.
Skipper Y. Manu, P. Rohith and Tom Joseph shone for Kerala.
Meanwhile, last year’s runners-up Uttarakhand endured a disappointing day going down to Karnataka 25-18, 21-25, 22-25, 13-25 in a Group B tie.
Uttarakhand, who had a dream run at the 2012 Senior Nationals in Raipur, stunning the then defending champions Tamil Nadu in the semifinals, won the opening set 25-18 but surrendering the advantage as Karnataka took control of the proceedings to win the next three sets.
In the women’s section, reigning champions Railways eased past Karnataka in straight sets 25-15, 25-11, 25-12 in a Group A league match.
Railways, who has as many as 10 internationals in their ranks, lived up to their reputation posting a convincing victory. Last year’s runners-up Kerala hit the winning ways, accounting for Uttar Pradesh 25-17, 25-9, 25-13 in a Group B tie.
Results (League Stage):
Men: Group A: Kerala bt Haryana 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17. Group C: Chhattisgarh bt Jharkhand 22-25, 8-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-12. Group-B: Karnataka bt Uttarakhand 18-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-13. Group D: Uttar Pradesh bt Assam 25-14, 25-19, 25-20; Gujarat bt Chandigarh 18-25, 25-15, 25-17, 26-24. Group E: Odisha bt Mizoram 25-19, 25-13, 25-20. Group F: Delhi bt Maharashtra 25-19, 25-17, 25-23; West Bengal bt Madhya Pradesh 27-29, 25-11, 25-21, 25-15.
Women: Group A: Railways bt Karnataka 25-15, 25-11, 25-12. Group B: Kerala bt Uttar Pradesh 25-17, 25-9, 25-13. Group C: Haryana bt Gujarat 25-11, 25-16, 18-25, 25-17. Group D: Punjab bt Jammu and Kashmir 25-3, 25-6, 25-4. Group E: Madhya Pradesh bt Uttarakhand 25-19, 25-6, 25-14; Chandigarh bt Jharkhand 25-21, 25-13, 25-14.
