Kolkata beat Kochi, record maiden win

Chennai: Kolkata Thunderbolts recorded their maiden victory of the Prime Volleyball League Season 3 as they registered a 3-1 win over the out-of-form Kochi Blue Spikers here on Tuesday.After suffering four losses on the bounce, inaugural champions Kolkata opened their account with a 16-14, 15-13, 11-15, 15-5 victory. Kochi endured their fifth consecutive defeat and are rooted to the bottom of the table.After Amit and Vinith Kumar helped Thunderbolts take the early advantage, both the teams searched for momentum. But Vinit’s efficiency in attacks and Ashwal Rai’s smart play down the middle helped Kolkata go 1-0 up in the match.Kolkata seized control in the second set, when Onur Cukur and Sudheer Shetty delivered. Athos displayed moments of brilliance, but Kochi missed a trick by not passing the ball to him on a few important occasions.Blue Spikers came back into the match, courtesy of some good serves in the third set, but were no match to Thunderbolts in the fourth.