National Volleyball Championships: Karnataka men march on

KOZHIKODE: Karanataka men, who missed last year's senior national championship, are on a roll. The young team under Karnataka postal's A Karthik notched up their third straight win of the event as they beat Jammu and Kashmir in straight sets in a group E encounter at Calicut Trade Centre Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
Karnataka will be playing their last group match against Delhi on Friday and will have to face Uttarakhand in the playoff stage to book their quarterfinals berth.Like Karnataka, Uttarakhand too had missed last year's national championship due to their differences with Volleyball Federation of India (VFI).
Surprisingly, Jammu and Kashmir, one of the weakest sides in the event, took the lead in first set but could not maintain their tempo throughout the match. They tried their best to counterattack in the second and final sets but Karnataka defence was too strong.
Later, in a late night men’s match defending champions Kerala made a string off errors in the first two sets but did just enough to prevail over Andhra Pradesh 27-25, 25-23, 25-14 in straight sets. With two wins from Group A, Kerala entered the quarterfinals and they will face Punjab in the final group game on Friday.
First match's hero GS Akhin looked off color against Andhra Pradesh and that affected Kerala's attacking and blocking. Captain Jerome C Vinith impressed yet again with heavy smashes and serves. After clinching the first set in a nail-biting manner, Kerala had to sweat it out in the second set too before making it 2-0. But the hosts looked more organized in the final set as they clinched it with ease.
Meanwhile, in the women's division last year's runners-up Kerala registered their second win of the event beating Uttar Pradesh in a three-set match 25-15, 25-10, 25-14.
Captain Karthik was the star of the day for Karnataka in their win over J&K. They came out with a clear game plan and executed it to precision. Young lad Bharath CM too had an impressive outing against Jammu and Kashmir. Anup D'Costa, one of the promising stars in the country, was not at his best but his heavy smashes did create problems for the Jammu and Kashmir.
Karnataka coach KR Lakshmi Narayana, who is also the chief coach of Karnataka Postal Department, was happy with results so far. "We have been playing great volleyball and I am happy with my boys' performance. Tough matches will begin from the quarterfinals stage and we are mentally ready for any challenge. Be it Kerala or any other team, Karnataka is ready and raring to go," the coach after the Jammu and ka
In a late night men's match on Wednesday, former champions Tamil Nadu made a remarkable comeback after losing the first set to stun Services in a four-set match. Services looked good after bagging the first set, but went down fighting in a match that got over after midnight 20-25, 25-23,25-18,25- 23.
Results:
Men:Bihar bt Jammu and Kashmir, 21-25, 25-23, 25-27, 27-25, 15-6D, Delhi bt Chattisgarh, 25-20, 25-16, 25-19; Karnataka bt Jammu and Kashmir, 25-13, 25-22, 25-17; West Bengal bt Goa, 25-27, 25-19, 25-20;Jharkhand bt Telangana, 25-17, 12-25, 25-23, 25-23; Gujarat bt MP 25-17, 26-24, 25-12; Puducherry bt Assam, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19; Madhya Pradesh bt Tripura, 25-11, 25-7, 25-17; Odissa bt Maharashtra, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20
Women: Gujarat bt Odissa, 25-14, 25-14, 25-23; Punjab bt Puducherry, 25-13, 25-18, 25-14; Karnataka bt Bihar, 25-03, 25-04, 25-07; Mizoram bt Uttarakhand, 25-07, 25-08, 25-12; Himachal Pradesh bt Rajasthan, 24-26, 25-16, 25-20
Chandigarh bt Madhya Pradesh, 25-18, 21-25, 25-08, 25-13
Haryana bt Jharkhand, 25-12, 25-16, 25-12
Rajasthan bt Jammu and Kashmir, 25-08, 25-14, 25-05
Jharkhand bt Tripura, 25-093, 25-04, 25-06
Delhi bt Chhattisgarh, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19
Indian Railways bt Tamil Nadu 26-24, 25-11, 25-16
West Bengal bt Andhra Pradesh, 25-21, 16-25, 25-17, 16-25, 15-06.