Goa Guardians Beat Ahmedabad Defenders in Five-Set Thriller to Get First Win

7 October 2025: Goa Guardians defeated Ahmedabad Defenders with a 13-15, 15-11, 9-15, 18-16, 19-17 victory in the RR Kabel Prime Volleyball League powered by Scapia at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Rohit Yadav was named Man of the Match.

The game witnessed many twists and turns, with both teams having to fight until the end, until Goa managed to sneak ahead in the last minute.

The first few minutes were filled with drama, with review calls, super serves and non-stop action as both teams tried to take the lead. Between Angamuthu, Shon T and Battur Batsuuri, captain and setter Muthusamy Appavu found himself with plenty of options in attack.

Goa captain Chirag Yadav led Goa’s counter-attack along with foreign exports Jeffrey Menzel and Nathaniel Dickinson. The Prince remained a force in the Guard’s defense, forming dominant blocks against Ahmedabad’s firepower. Both teams continued to ask each other questions.

Batsuuri’s ballistic missiles from the left side posed a puzzle for Ahmedabad to solve, while setter Rohit Yadav played the role of setter perfectly for Goa. Abhinav made effective blocks for Goa as he continued to stand tall in defense to block Dickinson’s path. However, Menzel gave Goa the advantage in attacks, found spaces in the Ahmedabad court and took the game to the fifth set with two consecutive pins.

Batsuuri moved the final set towards the Defenders with a tremendous super serve. Goa called for super points as a last resort and managed to close the gap. Goa once again found their way back, capitalizing on Dickinson’s relentless attacks and managed to secure a memorable comeback victory thanks to Menzel’s dunks.