The Kolkata Thunderbolts are all set to take on Calicut Heroes in semi-final two of Prime Volleyball League (PVL) at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday.
While the Thunderbolts finished second in the standings with 8 points from 6 matches, the Heroes finished at third place with 7 points from 6 matches in the league stage.
Speaking ahead of their match against Calicut, Kolkata Thunderbolts' Captain Ashwal Rai said, "We have been carrying out our preparations quite well throughout the tournament. Our team coordination has become better as the competition has progressed. We will devise our plans for Calicut Heroes and try our level best to reach the final. We are happy about finishing second in the standings, but our main goal is to win the competition."
The Skipper also spoke about the aspects that the team needs to improve on, "Calicut played really well in their last match. But we won't think about their form. We made some small mistakes in our last match. We will work on them and try to get better as a team. We have to work on our blocking and improve our serving as well."
Calicut Heroes' David Lee expressed that his team is moving in the right direction, "We were really excited after booking our place in the semi-finals. Our team was a bit down after losing the first two matches, but we were ecstatic to make a comeback and go through to the Semis after a 5-0 victory against Hyderabad Black Hawks. We are moving in the right direction to do good things in this tournament."
When asked about the aspects the team will need to focus on during their Semi-Final match, Lee said, "Our defensive game and serve reception has become much better. Our passing was also spot on in our previous match. Kolkata has been playing very well. They are serving really well, so we have to pass well when we receive the serves. We are going to approach the Semi-Final just like any other game. We are going to fight for every point and expect to win the match."
The Kolkata Thunderbolts and Calicut Heroes will take on each other in Semi-Final 2 at 1850 hrs on Friday, 25 February 2022.
( With inputs from ANI )
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