Serve, Spike & Score: Men's Volleyball on Day-2

By Pranavi Ambati
Day-2 of the Volleyball matches saw the remaining 5 qualifier matches. The intense mood to make it to the next round was set in by the match between UPES and Graphic Era (Dehradun), which was the first and only qualifier to go into 3 sets.

While Graphic Era (D) won Set-1 with 25 against UPES' 22, the latter came back stronger and won Set-2. However, the game was ultimately clinched by Graphic Era (D) with a 7 point lead over the 18 points secured by UPES.

Equally interesting was the match between Subharti and PGDAV. Despite not going into 3 sets, the game was filled with tension. A chase on heels in Set-1 followed by Set-2 being interrupted by a dust storm kept the audience on the edge. The game ended with Subharti defeating PGDAV in two successive sets 25-22 and 25-17. Thus, Subharti's pocket on Day-2 saw both 1 win and 1 loss.

"We had come with the intent of finishing our game in two sets, and so when the third set was announced, the chills started to seep in. Even though we lost the match, we had a thrill of a time," said Yogya Sharma, who led the UPES Volleyball team.

Meanwhile, in an impressive feat, Sharda University won both the matches it played. Their match against PGDAV was particularly interesting as they scored 25 for 17 in both Set-1 and Set-2, which Pragya Singh, an ground management volunteer at the event, termed as "the mother of coincidences".

The evening saw the first quarter-final match of the Volleyball competition. Spectators witnessed Bennett's two teams - Bennett A and Bennett B - at loggerheads. "It feels like I am watching two brothers spar," said Maanvi Chaudhary, an audience member who sat down for the sport.

The B Team won Set-1 25 for 23, which prompted A Team into a more offensive style of play with which they won both Set-2 and Set-3 by a margin of 9 and 7 points, respectively.
(The writer is a Semester II student of BA (Journalism and Mass Communication) programme.)