PVL 2022: Noah Taitano sheds light on preparations ahead of clash against Kochi Blue Spikers

Noah Taitano will be in action against the Kochi Blue Spikers at the Prime Volleyball League (PVL) on February 8. The tournament will be held from February 5-27 at the indoor Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad.

Taitano is an all-rounder from California, US. He will play as a universal for Bengaluru Torpedoes in the franchise-based volleyball league. On being asked about his preparation and the plans for his team's first match against Kochi, Taitano said:

"The plan is to go out and start strong right from the get-go. It's a couple of days ago that I found out about the new 15-point scoring system and how the sets were played. We have to start strong from the beginning carry that out through the match and I feel that we are going to do well."

The Bengaluru Torpedoes has a good mixture of Indian and international players along with young talent from across the country.

With Noah Taitano and Kyle Friend joining the team, the Bengaluru side is currently focused on team-bonding sessions before finalizing the right combination for the match against Kochi.

Noah Taitano also spoke about the interactions with his teammates. Speaking about Ranjit Singh, Noah said:

"He's (Ranjit) a great setter and a great leader, he has amazing hands. He's is going to be the 'piece' that we need. It's amazing to play with someone like him."

Taitano went on to add that PVL would help his career as it would be his first time playing in a professional volleyball league. He also spoke about playing indoor volleyball and explained the difference between playing indoors and on the beach. Taitano said:

"The biggest challenge would be timing the ball. I have been playing indoors for over four and a half years now so it's not a huge challenge for me. For players who have been playing beach volleyball, the challenge would be timing the ball and getting used to the ball's speed as well."

Earlier, Bengaluru Torpedoes coach K. R. Lakshminarayana spoke about the team's balance, bonding and training sessions. The coach said:

"We have had a good 4-5 hours of training sessions every day since our camp in Mysore in early January. Noah Taitano, Kyle Friend joined the camp in Hyderabad, and they've mixed alongside the group. We're now focused on getting our combinations right before the first game."

He continued:

"We have bagged a balanced team from the auction, with a couple of ex-Indian players in the side. We have an established leader in Ranjit (Singh) while young players from Karnataka - Vinayak (Rokhade), Ganesha and Srajan (Shetty) also boost the quality of the side."

Prime Volleyball League 2022: live streaming details

Watch Rupay Prime Volleyball League 2022 Live on SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi), SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) & SONY TEN 2 (Malayalam) channels from February 5.

Watch Hyderabad Black Hawks vs Kochi Blue Spikers – Live on SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi), SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) & SONY TEN 2 (Malayalam) channels at 7:00 pm IST on February 5.