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The Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Kochi played host to a thrilling encounter between the Black Hawks Hyderabad and Ahmedabad Defenders on the third day of the RuPay Pro Volleyball League 2019. Carson Clark-led Hawks claimed a nail-biting 3-2 win to open their account in the inaugural edition of the league.
The clash manifested into a game of cat and mouse as both teams hardly let the other get away with the match going all the way down to the final set, where the Black Hawks held on to clinch a 15-11, 13-15, 15-11, 14-15, 15-9 victory.
Skipper Carson Clark starred for the Black Hawks with 15 points to his credit, while central blocker and vice-captain, Ashwal Rai was in fine nick, notching up 14 points.
The first set witnessed a host of errors from both the sides as both teams failed to get their serves right, leading to a 6-6 scoreline. A thunderous spike from skipper, Clark gave the Black Hawks an upper hand with the scoreline reading 8-6 in their favour. However, it did not last long as Dilip Koiwal's 'Super Serve' brought back the Defenders 11-10. A service error from Koiwal and an Alex Bader 'Super Serve’ later in the set awarded the Black Hawks four points in a row which meant they sealed the first set 15-11.
The Defenders started strong in the second set as they took a 4-2 lead. They managed to keep a couple of powerful spikes from Carson away and built up a 7-3 advantage. However, the Black Hawks found some momentum to pick up three points in a row and level scores at 13-13. Although, that went in vain as the Defenders held on to claim the set 15-13.
Carson Clark got the Black Hawks off to a blistering start in the third set, claiming two points in a row that gave his team a dominating 7-2 lead. Such was the Black Hawks' dominance that the Defenders were completely under the pump at 11-3 until they pulled back four points. However, they failed to stop the rampaging Black Hawks from registering a 15-11 win and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set followed a similar pattern to the second set as the Defenders marched away to a 3-1 lead and exhibited a strong all-round display to bag a slurry of points until the Hawks clawed back to level scores at 13-13. With both teams desperate for a win, the score read 14-14 before a power-packed spike from Sayyad Ali gave the Defenders a 15-14 win.
With the match on the line, both teams started cautiously until the Black Hawks shifted gears to pick up four points in a row and take an important 6-2 lead They then scorched through the final set and capped off a thrilling match with a 15-9 win.
Impact Player - Carson Clark (Black Hawks Hyderabad)
The Black Hawks' skipper was in pristine form all through the match as he smashed his way to 15 points and also pitched in with some crucial blocks. Such was the consistency of the left-handed attacker that he found himself in the thick of it across all five sets and formed a vital part of the Hawks' unit.
