Prime Volleyball League leg 2 moves to Hyderabad for next stage

Hyderabad: After a thrilling start to season 2 of the Prime Volleyball League (PVL) at Bengaluru city over the past week, action now shifts to Hyderabad for the second leg.

A total of 10 games were played in a span of nine days as hundreds of volleyball supporters gathered at the stadium each day to witness the exciting sporting action.

But now, the tournament is set to kick off in Hyderabad on Wednesday with hosts Hyderabad Black Hawks ready playing against Kochi Blue Spikers.

"We enjoyed tremendous success in Bengaluru as fans came in numbers to enjoy the thrilling volleyball action. We are now coming to Hyderabad again, we were here last time but it was during Covid. We already have a huge fan base in the city and we are excited to see fans back in the stands here," said PVL CEO Joy Bhattacharjya, at a press conference a day before the start of the action.

Hyderabad Black Hawks Principal Owner Abhishek Reddy also spoke at the press conference and gave a brief glimpse of his vision for the franchise in the years to come.

"Our goal has always been to bring excitement into people's lives. Volleyball is as much entertainment as a sport. Each season, we try to push the limits higher and try things beyond the expected norm of a host city. Over the next seven days, you will see what we and the city of Hyderabad have in store for you, as well as a glimpse of what's to come next season," he said.

Meanwhile, ahead of their first game at home, Hyderabad Black Hawks skipper SV Guru Prashanth said that his side is aware of what Kochi Blue Spikers are capable of, and will plan their strategies accordingly. Hyderabad have so far played three games in the season, having won one.

"We have seen Kochi Blue Spikers perform on the court, and we see them at training. We know what their strengths are and we know how we have to plan to counter that. We are ready to give the home fans a great show to watch," Guru said.

Kochi Blue Spikers' captain Vipul Kumar said that his team has learned from their errors in the first two games and will find a way to bounce back. Kochi have so far lost both their games in the season.

"We want to show that we are not a team to be taken lightly. We have strong players in our ranks. While things did not work out for us in the first couple of games, we have learned from them and we are prepared to cause an upset," Vipul said.