The Hindu : Sport / Volleyball : Hat-trick for Kannur

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Wednesday, Jan 31, 2007
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Sport - Volleyball

Hat-trick for Kannur

KOTTAYAM: Kannur University celebrated a sensational hat-trick in the National inter-university women's volleyball championship here on Tuesday night.

Defending champion Kannur, which triumphed on its debut two years ago, defeated host Mahatma Gandhi University 25-23, 25-18, 25-23 in the hour-long final.

The championship was Mahatma Gandhi's first major sporting event on its home ground. Inspired by the occasion and backed by a packed gallery, the host raced to a 7-3 lead.

But it was all Kannur, virtually the Thalassery SAI team moulded into a winning combination by T. Balachandran, after that. P.J. Jomol was once again the team's star but with junior India star K. Reshma and Josme Paul striking form in the final, the champion appeared comfortable despite the close scores.

Jomol worked on setter Princy Joseph's short lifts, Reshma went for some fine cross-court smashes which found the backcourt napping while Josme won her points by attacking the sidelines. At the other end, the home captain Dhanya appeared off colour. She was clearly under pressure, frequently hitting out. Junior State player P.V. Sreevidya was in fine touch for MGU winning the bulk of the team's points while Sumitha offered solid support.

Madras finished third, shaking off a two-set deficit to beat Calicut in an 86-minute thriller.

M. Kalaivani and Tintu Visweswaran impressed in the match.

The results: Final: Kannur bt Mahatma Gandhi 25-23, 25-18, 25-23.

For third place: Madras bt Calicut 21-25, 20-25, 27-25, 25-16, 15-9. — Principal Correspondent

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