Chennai Spikers’ campaign in the Panimalar-Sail Indian Volleyball League second leg went from bad to worse after they crashed to a five-set defeat against Maratha Warriors at the Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.

The hosts now need some magic to win the title here.

It was a second loss on the trot for the Spikers. The 15-25, 25-21, 26-24, 16-25, 15-10 win is a much-needed boost for the Warriors, who had lost to Yanam Tigers without a fight on the opening day.

The meeting of the first leg winners, Warriors, and runners-up, Spikers, was a roller-coaster, but wasn’t a classic. Chennai paid dearly for their inconsistency and inability to kill off points. Despite winning two sets with huge margins, they were found wanting at crucial stages of the match.

Omvir Mann was outstanding for the Warriors. After replacing D. Selvaprabhu early in the first set, the left-handed universal never looked back. The spring-heeled Uttar Pradesh youngster was the difference between the two teams. His angled smashes thudded into the Spikers’ court like missiles fired by competent scientists. The home team couldn’t crack the Omvir puzzle until the end.

The dipping form of S. Prabakaran is a major headache for Chennai. The attacker was abysmal to say the least. Even though K. Karthikeyan troubled the Warriors with his power-packed smashes, the Spikers missed points in the other row. Universal Mandeep Singh was much better than he was on the first day, but his failure to finish off the fourth set, when Chennai were leading 24-23, cost his team the match.

After starting the decider positively, Chennai’s game suffered an inexplicable meltdown. Struck by a bout of nerves, the Spikers committed error after error in first-pass and defence. They simply gifted the set and the match to their opponents.

Kerala Killers win

Earlier, the hunger of Kerala Killers carried them to a 25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 25-22 win against Yanam Tigers. Having lost to Hyderabad Chargers on the opening day, the Killers were desperate for a win and they achieved it with a fine team performance.

Attacker Naveen Raja Jacob was immense for the Kerala team in the first set. Tom Joseph’s inspirational form brought the Tigers into the match. The veteran all-rounder was virtually unstoppable. Killers’ blockers Jinson Verghese and G.R.Vaishnav were clueless as Tom fired away winners at will.

With attacker John Christopher also in the mood, the momentum was with the Tigers after they took the second set. But they couldn’t cash in on their superior attacking strength in the third and fourth sets as poor blocking let them down. Seasoned blocker Y. Subba Rao was ineffective for the Tigers throughout.

Vaishnav and Jinson gained in confidence as the match wore on. Even Tom found it difficult to score kills. Jinson came up with a superb block on the home stretch of the fourth set to steer the Killers to an important win. Shamji K. Thomas played a key role for Kerala with his excellent first-passes.

Results

Kerala Killers bt Yanam Tigers 25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 25-22. Maratha Warriors bt Chennai Spikers 15-25, 25-21, 26-24, 16-25, 15-10. Hyderabad Chargers bt Karnataka Bulls 25-17, 25-15 27-25.

Action on Monday (June 6)

Kerala Killers vs Maratha Warriors (3.30 pm); Karnataka Bulls vs Yanam Tigers (5 pm); Chennai Spikers vs Hyderabad Chargers (6.30 pm).