JANUARY 11: The ability to adapt and combine effectively in difficult situations was proved in ample measure by last year's runners up Tamil Nadu men, when they stopped Kerala's upward mobility in the Men's Group B preliminary league with a fine 26-24, 23-25, 25-17, 31-29 win in the 48th Senior National Volleyball Championships at Bose Maidan on Monday.Tamil Nadu, who could have the services of their international M S Rajesh, Harun Khan, Joby Joseph and Tulasi Reddy only last Friday after they did duty for the country in the Dubai Indoor tourney, combined remarkably with their teammates on the outdoor courts here to carve out a win in 77 minutes.They were in command in the first set, were unsettled by Kerala's Tom Joseph, Raj Vinod and a fine show by libero Jetheesh in the second, clawed their way back in the third for a 25-17 verdict and locked horns with the '98 champions in the fourth and deciding set.The teams matched each other shot for shot, block for block and drop for drop till 23-all. The war of nerves started from then on and the teams were stacked in a series of stalemate at 24, 26, 28 and 29. Both the teams unleashed their fiercest fire power before India's ace blocker M S Rajesh came up with a single man defence at the net for a rousing 31-29 win, incidentally the longest rally seen in the championship thus far.In a Group A men's preliminary match, plucky Orissa capitalised on a strategic error by Indian Railways to rob a set off their rivals before the 1997 champions roared back in the fourth and deciding set to post their second league win with a 25-15, 25-14, 23-25, 25-17 win.Other resultsMen: Delhi bt AP 25-21 25-18 25-18; MP bt UP 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-22; W Bengal bt Tripura 25-18, 25-16, 25-14; Gujarat bt Pondicherry 25-11, 25-21, 25-20.Women: Railways bt UP 25-8 25-10 25-13; Kerala bt Pondicherry 25-11 25-12 25-10; AP bt Rajasthan 25-7 25-14 25-8; Tamil Nadu bt MP 25-17, 25-18, 25-14; Kerala bt Punjab 25-13, 25-10, 25-10; HP bt Chandigarh; Delhi bt Maharashtra 25-20, 12-25, 25-23, 25-15.
