Nagpur Div girls in semis of state volleyball meet

Nagpur: The Nagpur divisional spikers in both the U-21 and U-18 girls' categories made it to the semifinals of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Cup state-level volleyball tournament at Badlapur, Thane, on Friday.While both the Nagpur women teams lost a game each in the league stage to finish second in their respective groups and qualify for the semifinals, their men counterparts in the U-21 and U-18 groups won all their two league outings for an unbeaten run in the five-day tournament. Both the Nagpur men teams are just a win away from entering the semifinals.In the U-21 girls' section, Nagpur registered a hard-fought but straight-set 25-21, 25-23 victory over Kolhapur to finish second best after losing their second league game against Nashik. Earlier, Nagpur girls prevailed over Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.In the U-18 girls group, Nagpur suffered a 10-25, 7-25 defeat against Pune in their last league outing after they registered facile victories over Mumbai and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar respectively.In the U-18 boys category, Nagpur spikers rallied splendidly to get the better of Kolhapur in a thrilling tie. After losing the opening set 23-25, Nagpur brought parity by winning the second set 25-22. In the decider, Nagpur took an early lead to prevail over Kolhapur 15-11. Earlier, Nagpur made light work of Sambhajinagar 25-5, 25-6.In the U-21 boys section too, Nagpur registered a come-from-behind 20-25, 25-21, 16-14 victory over Pune.In their last league games, both the U-18 and U-21 Nagpur teams will face Mumbai. If Nagpur spikers clinch victory against Mumbai teams, then they will emerge pool toppers in their respective categories.