Ahmedabad Defenders finished as runners-up in the inaugural edition of RuPay Prime Volleyball League (PVL), powered by A23.

Under head coaches Dakshinamoorthy Sundaresan and Sajad Hussain Malik, Ahmedabad Defenders were one of the most dominant teams in PVL Season 1.

Led by Indian volleyball player Muthusamy Appavu, the Bonhomie Sports-owned Ahmedabad Defenders started their PVL Season 1 campaign by beating Chennai Blitz 15-13, 15-11, 11-15, 15-13, 11-15 in their opening fixture.

The Defenders continued their impressive start by defeating Calicut Heroes 12-15, 15-11, 10-15, 15-12, 15-11, and followed it up by thrashing Hyderabad Black Hawks 15-13, 15-10, 15-12, 15-8, 9-15.

However, the Ahmedabad-based franchise suffered their first defeat against Bengaluru Torpedoes as they went down 14-15, 13-15, 14-15, 15-14, 15-13.

Muthusamy Appavu’s men later bounced back to pip Kolkata Thunderbolts 7-15, 15-10, 15-13, 15-14, 10-15 in their fifth clash of the tournament.

In their final league game, the Ahmedabad Defenders overcame Kochi Blue Spikers 15-14, 15-14, 11-15, 14-15, 15-10 to finish at the top of the PVL Season 1 standings. With 10 points from six matches, they stormed into the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, Ahmedabad Defenders beat Hyderabad Black Hawks 15-13, 15-12, 9-15, 15-12 to secure their place in the summit clash against Kolkata Thunderbolts.

The Defenders, however, succumbed to a 13-15, 10-15, 12-15 defeat in the PVL Season 1 final to finish as runners-up.

For the Ahmedabad Defenders, attackers Angamuthu and Shon T John were the standout players in Season 1. While Angamuthu finished the first season with a whopping 83-point total and a 44.4% attack success rate, Shon T John concluded the campaign with 77 points and a 47.8% attack success rate.

Having impressed in the inaugural season, Ahmedabad Defenders retained their captain Muthusamy Appavu, attackers Shon T John and S Santosh.

Meanwhile, the Defenders have acquired the services of Iranian middle-blocker ​​Danial Moatazedi and USA attacker Andrew Kohut James in the RuPay Prime Volleyball Season 2 Player Auction.

The franchise has also roped in Indian players L M Manoj, Angamuthu, Aswath, Nandhagopal S, Harsh Chaudhary and T Shrikant in the player auction to bolster their squad.

The PVL Season 1 runners-up will start as one of the title contenders in RuPay Prime Volleyball League Season 2, starting on February 4.

Ahmedabad Defenders squad for PVL Season 2

Andrew Kohut James (I), Danial Moatazedi (I), L M Manoj, Angamuthu, Nandhagopal S, Parth Patel, Aswath, Harsh Chaudhary, T Shrikant, Shon T John (R), S Santosh (R), Muthusamy (R)

I = International ; R = Retained

Read more on the Prime Volleyball League website.