Kerala women silence Uttar Pradesh to storm into semis of Sr National Volleyball Championship

Kerala silenced the home crowd with a convincing 3-0 win (25-10, 25-20, 25-18) over Uttar Pradesh to enter the semifinals of the 72nd Senior National Volleyball Championship in Varanasi on Friday.

Kerala, led by Anusree K P, made a powerful start, winning the opening set with consummate ease. But the hosts were resilient, bouncing back to take a solid lead (16-13) in the second set before slipping up. 

Coach Sadanandan C S was a calm presence on the sidelines. Kerala are hoping to reclaim their title after losing to the Railways in last year's final.

In the opening set, UP blocks were non-existent, while Kerala's defence, marshalled by Bhoomika A R, stood tall, keeping out everything the hosts threw at them.

Anna Mathew's floaters troubled UP receivers as Kerala went from 2-2 to 12-2 in no time. Setter Nandana V had a field day, combining with the wide attackers Ann V Jacob and Anagha Radhakrishnan. UP had no answer for Ann's ferocious cross shots.

It was as if UP rediscovered themselves at the break because the second set was evenly fought. UP even took a surprise lead (11-10) with Neethu fetching a series of points from her serves. 

Ann found a pocket of space to put Kerala in front again (13-12) but UP bounced back. Isha secured a kill to stretch their lead to 16-13. That was UP's best spell and once Kerala drew level at 17, the hosts lost their rhythm.

Ann was back with her jump serves, putting Kerala on the verge on match point (22-18) before the blockers wrapped up the set.

UP tried harder in the third set but Kerala had learnt a lesson and did not concede the lead. Ann was at her best in the final set, killing off deep sets in style and putting UP on the back foot with her power serves.