After losing an intense battle against Calicut Heroes in the second season of the Prime Volleyball League, the defending champions Kolkata Thunderbolts will be looking to re-establish their dominance in the league when they face off against a struggling Mumbai Meteors side.
The Thunderbolts have won three out of their four games so far, while Mumbai have won just one out of their four matches in the season.
Cody Caldwell, one of the star players for Kolkata Thunderbolts this season, opened up on the Thunderbolts' loss and explained how his team will be preparing for the match.
"From the last match, we had a few players who had small inconveniences before the match and so, we were not as well prepared as normal. But we still fought hard and it was very close. But our team has not shown our full potential, so we are just waiting for the playoffs," Cody said.
"Mumbai will be entering the match with pressure in their minds. Their backs are against the walls - they are going to play with everything they have. They are going to give maximum effort and give everything. Because if they lose this match, they could be out of the tournament. So, we have to be ready with the full instinct to play our best. It's a high-stakes contest," he added.
Cody also praised Mumbai's squad and said Kolkata have to be at their best to beat the Meteors.
"Mumbai have a very strong team physically and have everything to be a successful team. They have not been able to build energy and momentum. We expect them to play their best and we have to ensure our best is better than theirs," he said.
Meanwhile, the Meteors attacker Hardeep Singh said has worked on the errors they have made in the past few games and have devised strategies based on the opposition's strengths.
"The last time we made a few errors. We have focused on them during the training sessions and we have discussed how we can avoid those similar errors. We have also taken a close look at how the Kolkata Thunderbolts are performing and we have devised some strategies based on that as well," Hardeep Singh said.
Hardeep added that the Thunderbolts would want to get back to winning ways and maybe feel a bit of pressure entering the match after their first loss.
"Both the teams will have the pressure after losing their previous match. We will execute our plans completely and we are confident we will come up with a win. We have a strong unity in our team and we are communicating well. So, it will be a good game," he said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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