Calicut Heroes pick first win of season, beat Kolkata Thunderbolts 3-0

Hyderabad, Oct 17 (PTI) Defending champions Calicut Heroes defeated Kolkata Thunderbolts 15-10, 15-11, 15-12 in their Prime Volleyball League match at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Friday.

This is their first win of the season, and Mohan Ukkrapandian was named the Player of the Match.

Shameemudheen continued his form for Calicut, making impressive blocks against Ashwal Rai, and attacking from the middle zone. Service pressure from Ashok Bishnoi gave Calicut an early advantage.

Kolkata's overseas import Matin Takavar put pressure back on Calicut with super spikes, but service errors affected their momentum.

Santhosh joined the attacking action for Calicut, allowing captain and setter Ukkrapandian to distribute his attacks. The duo of Vikas Maan and Shameem formed a solid block line to make things difficult for Kolkata's attacks.

Calicut started making service errors, opening up the doors for Kolkata to make a comeback. But Pankaj Sharma's cross-body spike went wide, allowing Calicut to take a 2-0 lead.

Shameem continued to gain momentum in defence for Calicut, blocking ferocious attacks from Rahul K.

Despite solid passing from reserved setter Jithin, the Thunderbolts were unable to make the most of their attacking opportunities due to Calicut's strong defence.

Santhosh and Tharusha Chamath continued to get points with consistent attacks as Calicut went on to script a 3-0 win to get all three points. PTI AH AH UNG