Kochi Blue Spikers enter Season 2 of RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23, hoping to put the ghosts of Season 1 behind them.

The franchise had a disappointing group stage campaign with just one win in six games, including back-to-back defeats in their opening two fixtures.

Kochi Blue Spikers, captained by Karthik Madhu, got their tournament underway with a 12–15, 11–15, 11–15, 10–15, 13–15 loss against Hyderabad Black Hawks. The second game was no different, as the Spikers went down to Bengaluru Torpedoes in a 15–14, 15–12, 13–15, 9–15, 14–15 defeat.

A 15–12, 15–11, 14–15, 12–15, 15–10 success against Chennai Blitz in the third fixture brought brief relief to the Kochi camp. Cody Caldwell put on a match-winning display to help the Spikers secure a come-from-behind victory with a 3-2 scoreline.

Kochi Blue Spikers failed to carry the new-found momentum into their final three outings, as they ended the season with consecutive defeats to Calicut Heroes, Ahmedabad Defenders and Kolkata Thunderbolts. The team would finish last on the points table with just two points.

Despite their struggles with the results, there was a reason to cheer for Kochi Blue Spikers given the performances of Erin Varghese (55 attack points, 15 defensive digs), Cody Caldwell (45 attack points, 30 defensive digs, six block points) and Karthik A (42 attack points, 13 block points).

While Caldwell and Karthik departed from the team, Erin Varghese was retained alongside blocker Dushyanth GN and libero Venu C. The team also drafted Brazil’s Walter Da Cruz Neto and Peru’s Eduardo Romay as their overseas players for Season 2 of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23.

Catch them in action as the 2023 edition of RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23 is scheduled to begin on February 4, 2023.

KBS squad for PVL Season 2:

Walter Da Cruz Neto (I), Eduardo Romay (I), Rohit Kumar, Vipul Kumar, George Antony, Fayis Nk, Aswin Rag Vt, Pavan Ramesh, Jibin Sebastian, Alan Ashiqe VL, Abhinav BS, Erin Varghese (R), Dushyanth GN (R), Venu C (R)

I = International ; R = Retained

Read more on the Prime Volleyball League website.