Mumbai Meteors registered a hard-fought win over Kochi Blue Spikers to consolidate their top spot in the Prime Volleyball League, in Hyderabad, on Tuesday.
Mumbai won 15-7, 7-15, 13-15, 15-8, 15-11 in a five-set thriller as Karthik was named Player of the Match.
With the win, the Mumbai franchise retained their top spot in the table with 11 points in four games while Kochi occupied the ninth position after five matches.
Mumbai made a strong start with setter Om Lad Vasant's precise passes and Petter Alstad Ostvik's solid blocking of Erin Varghese's spikes helping them dominate the opening set.
Kochi brought on Hemanth and Amal K Thomas to provide much-needed attacking flair.
Amrinderpal Singh continued his form in the defence as he made solid blocks. Hemanth earned a super point and Kochi levelled the game.
Setter Moushin played a key role for Kochi with his distributions.
Abhishek's contributions in the attack helped Kochi take the lead.
Mumbai brought veteran blocker Karthik A and setter Vipul Kumar on the court, and the game began to swing towards Mumbai once again.
Amit Gulia's smart receptions helped the Meteors push the game to the fifth set.
Shubham Chaudhary showed his defensive strengths to make crucial blocks. Despite service pressure from Amal, Mumbai managed to script a hard-fought victory, with Mathias Loftesnes leading the attack charge.