Kerala has it easy

The Karnataka boys were trounced 3-0 by Kerala in a hard-fought quarterfinal. Karnataka tried hard to put it past Kerala but in the end had to go home dejected with a 19-25, 21-25, 23-25 defeat. In the other quarterfinal matches in the boys section, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan won their matches against Mizoram, Uttarakhand and West Bengal respectively.

 In the girls section it was Kerala all the way as the Defending champions were simply unstoppable overwhelming Karnataka in the quarterfinals. 

In the first set, Kerala raced to a 9-0 lead with captain Karthika leading from the front with some crucial winners. Jini and Drishya also joined the party to torment the listless Karnataka defence.

It was a clinical exhibition of volleyball, with Kerala’s smashing and setting being precise and accurate. For Karnataka, the only resistance came from Pavithra who came up with a few winners. However, Kerala wrapped up the set at 25-10.

Kerala maintained their lead with contributions from Sanisha and Jini before wrapping the second 25-17.

In the third, Kerala were in their elements again as they pounded the hosts with winner after winner.

Results: (all quarterfinals): Boys: Kerala bt Karnataka 25-19, 25-21, 25-23; Tamil Nadu bt Mizoram 25-7, 25-10, 25-14; Uttar Pradesh bt Uttarakhand 25-19, 25-19, 25-14; Rajasthan bt West Bengal 25-13, 22-25, 14-25, 26-24, 15-09.

 Girls: Kerala bt Karnataka 25-10, 25-17, 25-13; West Bengal bt Maharashtra 25-18, 25-13, 25-10; Tamil Nadu bt Haryana 25-04, 25-07, 25-10; Rajasthan bt Uttar Pradesh 22-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-16.