Eranakulam, with four Indian international players in their squad, were hot favourites against Kannur but lazy start and lack of co-ordination saw them surrendering the match 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 11-15.
With two back-to-back wins over Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam, Kannur became the first team to enter the quarters from Pool A. Now Ernakulam will have to beat Pathanamthitta on Wednesday to make it to the quarters.
Kannur skipper Subeesh led from the front and their lef-hander Rijeesh was a delight to watch. Rijeesh was brilliant in blocking former Indian skipper Tom Joseph and Vipin M George's heavy smashes and upset Ernakulam's defence with frequent hits to the opponents' front court.
Kannur's number 10-player Vivek Kamalakshan was the playmaker for the winning side with strong back court shots and brilliant placing. Kannur never looked tensed and had the upper hand throughout the match.
Earlier, Kollam women,mostly comprising of Kerala Police stars, survived a scare before outplaying Thrissur in a five-set affair, in their final Pool C match.
Thrissur, comparatively a young team with mainly Calicut University players in their squad, fought till the last moment but finally went down to the experienced Kollam team 19-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-13, 15-17.
Both teams have qualified for the quarters as Idukki bowed out of the event from Pool C.
The first set in which Kollam rested their key players Shajina NK and setter Akhila KK was a smooth ride for them. Though Thrissur played fought hard till 19-19, Kollam came back and bagged the first set at 25-19.
Thrissur started superbly in the second set and took the early lead when Anju Balakrishnan held her serve to make it 9-2.
It seemed that Thrissur was winning it easily but the timely substitution of Akhila made it 18-21 for Kollam. Akhila was brilliant with her all-round skills and earned crucial points for her side but saw Thrissur clinching the second set.
The third set was a thriller. Thriisur was well ahead when the score was 4-0 but Kollam's Shajina came up with outstanding counter-attack and levelled the score at 5-5.
Thrissur's Anju Balakrishnan was equally good and at 24-24 it was anybody's game but Thrissur held their nerves to make it 2-1.
But Kollam women were not ready to give up and the experience of Shajina, Akhila and Anjana EP made the difference for them as they stunned Thrissur in the fourth set (25-13) in less than 20 minutes.
Though Thrissur displayed nice teamwork to upset Kollam in the decider, Kollam captain Anumol Philip joined the party with hefty smashes and helped her side pick up the set and match.
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