Uttarakhand, UP in title tilt

Volleyball Mini-Nationals

Uttarakhand overcame Manipur in a tough battle to enter the finals in the boys’ section of the 24th Mini-Nationals Volleyball tournament 25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 25-17 here at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

Uttrakhand will take on Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, who outclassed the reigning champions Tamil Nadu 25-17, 25-17, 25-17 in the other semifinal.

In the girls’ category, West Bengal got the better of hosts Karnataka 25-19, 25-12, 25-10 to reach the title round. They will face Haryana, who rallied from a set down to win  21-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-21 against Tamil Nadu.

In the boy’s section, the tie started at a frenetic pace, with Manipur grabbing the early lead in the first set, before the boys from Uttrakhand, riding on captain Ankit’s smashing prowess, surged ahead and won it 25-18.  The team from northeast made a good comeback in the second set, with their captain Konsam Deepak Singh leading from the front.

The third set witnessed some great blockings from both the teams, however, few unforced errors from the Manipuri boys proved costly as they lost it 25-23.

The fourth set was all about Uttarakhand as they produced some excellent smashes to claim the game 25-17.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka boys went down fighting 25-22, 28-30, 20-25, 25-7, 15-12 against Uttar Pradesh in the quarterfinals.

Results: Boys Semifinals: Uttar Pradesh bt Tamil Nadu 25-17, 25-17, 25-17; Uttarakhand bt Manipur 25-18, 19,25, 25-23, 25-17. Quarterfinals: Tamil Nadu bt Rajasthan 30-28, 25-18, 26-24; Uttar Pradesh bt Karnataka 25-22, 28-30, 20-25, 25-7, 15-12; Manipur bt Andhra Pradesh 25-20, 25-19, 25-19; Uttarakhand bt West Bengal 25-16, 25-12, 25-15.
Girls: Semifinals: Haryana bt Tamilnadu 21-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-21; West Bengal bt Karnataka 25-19, 25-12, 25-10.

Quarterfinals: Tamil Nadu bt Rajasthan 16-25, 25-17, 25-21, 16-25, 15-6; Haryana bt Maharashtra 13-25, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22, 15-10; Karnataka bt Telangana 25-10, 25-15, 25-9; West Bengal bt Kerala 25-9, 25-17, 25-12.