Defending women’s champion Kerala set up a title clash with Indian Railways after registering a 25-21, 25-8, 25-15 win over Tamil Nadu in a round-robin clash of the 29th Federation Cup volleyball championship for men and women for the Sulochana Trophy here on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu started well and took a 5-2 lead in the first set, but Kerala fought back and made it 10-8. It was a close race till Tamil Nadu went up 18-17 and it was the last time they held the upper hand over the opposition in the match. Kerala came back strongly, won six consecutive points, made it 23-19, and did not look back thereafter.
It was an embarrassing second set for the host as it was down 0-12 in quick time and never managed to recover. Even though Tamil Nadu improved a bit, it was not enough to challenge the opposition. Attacker Bhavani was in fine form for the home team but she did not get enough support.
The results: Women: Kerala bt Tamil Nadu 25-21, 25-8, 25-15. On Friday: Men: Kerala bt Services 25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 26-24. Women: Railways bt Bengal 23-25, 27-25, 25-15, 25-10.
