U Mumba Volley beat Ahmedabad Defenders 4-1 (10-15, 15-12, 15-13, 15-12, 15-8) in the final league match of the inaugural Pro Volleyball League here Monday to qualify for the play-offs on set difference.
U Mumba Volley will now play table-toppers Calicut Heroes in the first semi-final on Tuesday.
The first set started with both teams going all out and fighting for each point.
Two errors from U Mumba gave Ahmedabad a 8-7 lead at the first Technical Time Out (TTO).
U Mumbas errors proved crucial as two more helped Ahmedabad race to a 11-8 lead. U Mumba immediately called for a Super Point and converted with a Vinit Kumar spike.
Ahmedabad also called for a Super Point and took advantage. Ahmedabad were able to protect it and won the set 15-10.
The Mumbai team bounced back with a strong performance in the second set and took it 15-12.
For U Mumba, skipper Deepesh Sinha was looking in good rhythm, as he scored from 2 spikes and a block to give his side an 8-5 advantage at TTO.
Ahmedabad called for a Super Point at 8-11 and converted with a Victor Sysoev spike. But U Mumba was in no mood to let the advantage slip as they won the set 15-12 to level the match 1-1.
From that point, U Mumba took control and did not allow the rival team any opportunity to bounce back. U Mumba managed to close the third set 15-13 with a spike by skipper Sinha.
U Mumba was serving immaculately in the fourth set as two serves by Pankaj Sharma and one by Kumar helped U Mumba to a 9-4 lead.
Ahmedabad called for a Super Point at 5-10 and it was successfully converted by Sysoev. Ahmedabad fought back hard and brought the score to 12-13. U Mumba held their nerve and a block by Nicholas Del Bianco won the set for them 15-12.
U Mumba was relentless in the last set as Vinit Kumar led the charge with a super serve and two more serve points, thereby helping his team to win the set 15-8 and the match 4-1.
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