Spikers take pole; Bulls stay last

The Spikers, who had edged out Yanam for the second spot in the first leg in Bangalore, were dominant throughout and it reflected in their 25-23, 25-19, 25-19 victory.

With three wins out of five matches, Spikers finished their campaign with eight points and a score quotient of 1.084. Hyderabad Chargers and the Karnataka Bulls garnered eight points as well but with respective score quotients of 1.033 and 0.885 they settled for the second and third spots.

To add to their celebrations, the Spikers grabbed pole on the overall table at the end of both the legs with 16 points at a score quotient of 1.066. First-leg champions Maratha Warriors, who finished at the bottom of the table in the second leg with seven points, are second on the overall table with 16 points but have a marginally lesser score quotient of 1.033.

The TD Ravikumar-led Bulls, who were in dire need of victory to get their campaign rolling, wrapped up a 16-25, 13-25, 25-23, 27-25, 15-11 victory against the Kerala Killers in the final match of the second leg. Despite their spirited performance, the Bulls lie last on the overall table.

The third leg is scheduled to begin on Sunday at Yanam.Results: Karnataka Bulls bt Kerala Killers 16-25, 13-25, 25-23, 27-25, 15-11; Hyderabad Chargers bt Maratha Warriors 25-21, 25-20, 25-17; Chennai Spikers bt Yanam Tigers 25-23, 25-19, 25-19.