Ernakulam volley into finals

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Ernakulam stormed into the finals of the Kerala State Senior Volleyball Championship men’s category by trouncing Kozhikode (3-1) in a late-night semi-final match played at Vengalam in Kozhikode on Friday.

It was the trio of Kozhikode-born Indian internationals, Tom Joseph, E.K. Kishore and Sayooj T.P., who led the Ernakulam team to victory. Though it was Kozhikode who scored the first point through former Indian camper Azeez M.T.’s smash, Ernakulam came right back in the first set with the help of Tom Joseph and Vibin M. George’s smashes and dips.

In the first set, after equalling the score at 4-4, Ernakulam cruised to 12 points without giving the Kozhikode players any room. The Ernakulam team gathered points quite effortlessly thanks to the heavy smashes of Tom Joseph and some brilliantly-placed shots. While Joseph was busy with his pipe attacks, Vibin M. George ruled the front court with his beautiful dips.

Kozhikode mostly scored with the help of outside hitter Azeez whose smashes went unanswered by Indian team player Libero Kiran Philip. The set ended with a blistering smash by Tom Joseph helping Ernakulam win the set by 25-18.

The second set started pretty much as the first set with Kozhikode getting the first point with an Azeez smash.

However, Vibin M. George’s jump serves were too good to pass. This set too went in Ernakulam’s favour for 25-20. Though two sets down, Kozhikode gained momentum in the third one with huge support of the home crowd. With several unforced errors, the Ernakulam team lost the plot and Kozhikode won easily with 25-18.

The fourth set was the decisive one and the teams cruised shoulder to shoulder. Both captains, Tom Joseph and Azeez, came face to face in the set with their international experience. The set witnessed some of the most beautiful digs and double quick hits of the game. Ernakulam finally won the set 25-23 to cruise to the finals.

In the women’s category, Thiruvananthapuram eves trounced Thrissur (3-1) and entered the finals. Though Thrissur fought well, especially their ace smasher Alphonsa, Thiruvananthapuram came in better as their captain Sheeba and Dona George performed brilliantly.

Brief results

Semi-final
Men
Ernakulam beat Kozhikode, (25-18, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23)

Women
Thiruvananthapuram beat Thrissur (17-25, 19-25, 19-25, 17-25)