The Hindu : Sport / Volleyball : TN meets Kerala in title clash

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 14, 2006

Sport

Sport - Volleyball

TN meets Kerala in title clash

Principal Correspondent

BANGALORE: Kerala girls made their maiden entry into the mini-National volleyball championship final. In the semifinals here on Saturday, Kerala packed too much ammunition for last year's runner-up Andhra Pradesh and won 26-24, 25-18, 25-12 despite losing its captain Sreeshma Sreedhar to a sprained ankle.

Kerala will lock horns with reigning champion Tamil Nadu in the final on the morrow. Tamil Nadu overcame some initial hiccups to outpoint West Bengal 26-24, 27-25, 25-14 in just over an hour.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu girls had the height and the game, but against a determined Bengal defence, they tended to err repeatedly and struggled in the first two sets despite enjoying early lead. But Riya Biswas and Moumita Das conceded too many negative points to let their side down at crucial junctures.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh beat host Karnataka in five sets to enter the boys' final. UP, last year's runner-up and three-time champion won 18-25, 25-19, 25-18, 18-25, 15-13.

The results: Girls (semifinals): Tamil Nadu bt West Bengal 26-24, 27-25, 25-14; Kerala bt Andhra Pradesh 26-24, 25-18, 25-12. Quarterfinals: Kerala bt Uttar Pradesh 25-16, 25-15, 19-25, 25-13; Tamil Nadu bt Maharashtra 25-20, 25-12, 25-9; Andhra Pradesh bt Rajasthan 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15.

Boys (semifinal): UP bt Karnataka 18-25, 25-19, 25-18, 18-25, 15-13. Quarterfinal: Uttar Pradesh bt Goa 19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-18.

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