After a forgettable inaugural season in the RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23, Chennai Blitz will be looking to redeem themselves in the next edition.

The Tamil Nadu-based franchise registered just two victories in their six games in Season 1, finishing sixth with four points on the board. Led by former Indian men's national volleyball team captain Mohan Ukkrapandian, the Blitz started their season with a 13-15, 11-15, 15-11, 13-15, 15-11 defeat to Ahmedabad Defenders.

In their second match-up, the Chander Singh-coached outfit lost again, this time to the Kolkata Thunderbolts 15-10, 11-15, 10-15, 12-15, 13-15.

Their dismal run continued as they went on to succumb to two more defeats against Hyderabad Black Hawks and Kochi Blue Spikers respectively. The Hawks completed a clean sweep of 14-15, 11-15, 14-15, 7-15, 13-15 against Chennai Blitz. The Spikers inflicted another disappointing 12-15, 11-15, 15-14, 15-12, 10-15 loss upon them too. The back-to-back losses meant they were out of the semi-finals race and had only pride to play for.

Nevertheless, the Blitz managed to end their season on a high as they pipped Calicut Heroes 15-14, 15-9,15-14, 10-15, 12-15 in their penultimate fixture, and followed it up by beating Bengaluru Torpedoes 9-15, 15-12, 15-13, 15-9, 12-15 to finish above bottom-placed Kochi Blue Spikers in the RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23 standings.

For the Blitz, blocker Akhin GS was the standout player, having stopped 14 shots at a 44.6% block success rate. That was a reason enough for the franchise to retain his services for Season 2. Additionally, they also retained the likes of attacker Naveen Raja Jacob along with setter Pinamma Prashant.

Moreover, Chennai Blitz have roped in Brazilian attacker Renato Mendes and Cameroon star Moyo Audran from the international players draft to bolster their squad. Their Indian contingent of Mohamed Riyazudeen, Ramanathan R, Prasanna Raja AA, Raman Kumar, Tushar Laware, Y V Sita Rama Raju and Jobin Varghese is also ready to prove their mettle in the upcoming season.

Having done an impressive job at the auction table, Chennai Blitz will first aim to qualify for the semi-finals in the second edition of RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23, which is scheduled to start on February 4. 2023.

Chennai Blitz squad for PVL Season 2

Moyo Audran (I), Renato Mendes (I), Mohamed Riyazudeen, Ramanathan R, Prasanna Raja AA, Raman Kumar, Tushar Laware, Y V Sita Rama Raju, Jobin Varughese, Naveen Raja Jacob (R), Akhin GS (R), Pinamma Prashant (R)

I = International ; R = Retained

Read more on the Prime Volleyball League website.