St. Hilda’s Secondary make comeback to beat Xinmin 2-1 in U-16 volleyball

Story and photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

Hougang Sports Hall, Saturday, November 1, 2008 – Xinmin Secondary gave St. Hilda’s Secondary (Falcons) a run for their money in a closely fought Group A Match at the National Under-16 Boys Junior Volleyball Championships 2008. Despite being one set down, St. Hilda’s (SHS) eventually clawed their way back (like Falcons.. 😉 ) to win 2-1 (22-25, 25-19, 15-12).

SHS took the first point when their #6 spiked the ball from the outside and saw it deflected out of bounds off a Xinmin blocker. Andy Koh (Xinmin, #8) took the second point with a down the line spike from the outside to make it 1-1. Malcolm Han (Xinmin, #9) spiked a hard shot to the SHS libero which deflected out.

SHS committed a few errors subsequently and had to play catch up. However, they finally managed to tie at 10-10 after some excellent play. A time out was called by Xinmin in a bid to halt SHS’s comeback attempt.

However, when play resumed, SHS pulled ahead, first with a good spike, then a powerful serve. However at the 12-10 mark, SHS #3 served the ball into the net to bring the score to 12-11.

The lead changed several times and the score inched up slowly at 17-17, 18-18, 19-19. Xinmin finally pulled ahead, and the setter extended this lead when he spiked a ball on the second touch to the SHS’s deep left corner to make it 21-19.

After a few defensive errors by SHS, Xinmin led 23-20. SHS then served out to allow Xinmin to reach set point. However, SHS denied Xinmin an easy end with a spike down the line to close the gap to 21-24.

Xinmin then committed a position error to allow their lead over SHS to close to just two points. However, SHS #7’s step over spike from behind the setter found the net, giving Xinmin the set, 25-22.

SHS took the first point of the second set when Dwayne Ng (Xinmin, #11) served into the net then took the second point as well when SHS #6 spiked an ace. This set saw SHS find their form as they played with stronger hits. With an occasional ball hit out of bounds, they were still well on track to take the second set.

At the 16-12 mark however, SHS started to fumble a little, allowing Xinmin to catch up. SHS hit the 20-point mark when Xinmin committed yet another position fault to make it 16-20.

At the 23-18 mark, Xinmin spiked a ball out to give set point to SHS but their #15 spiked the return shot into the net, prolonging the game. The last point was won when a drop shot by SHS #7 from the centre ended the set 25-19 to bring the game into a rubber set.

The third and final set was the highlight of the game as both teams fought intensely. Dwayne Ng (Xinmin, #11) served a ball out to give SHS the first point but the SHS #6 returned the favour when he served the ball into the net.

The SHS #7 then hit a quick ball into Malcolm Han (Xinmin, #9) but the latter was unable to retrieve the ball. Bad luck set in as the Xinmin setter was then fouled for holding, giving SHS a 3-1 lead.

Trailing 4-9, Dwayne Ng (Xinmin, #11) tapped the ball lightly into the SHS court which the SHS libero could not return when he stumbled.

Deepak Rai (Xinmin, #13) then gifted another point to SHS when he was touched the net. However, Xinmin were starting a slow but steady comeback which prompted the SHS coach to call for a time out to rally his players who were leading 10-7.

A blocking error by SHS gave Xinmin a point, closing the gap to two points at 10-8. Then an attempt by SHS at a quick ball was successfully blocked by Dwayne Ng (Xinmin, #11) to close the score gap to just one point at 10-9.

Thankfully for SHS, they managed to hit a few well placed spikes to stay ahead 13-11. The SHS #6 then had the task of pulling his team to game point. He served a ball which was picked up by the Xinmin libero. As the Xinmin setter set the ball out, it was clear that it was a set gone bad. The ball sailed into the air and hit the antenna, deeming it out of play. SHS were now up 14-11.

All eyes were now on SHS #6 for the last serve. Upon contact, the ball sailed steadily towards the Xinmin side. But as it reached the boundary of the court it didn’t seem to be going any lower and went out of bounds to the groans of his team mates.

But soon after, the SHS #1 finished the game when he leapt into the air and hit an offensive ball towards the deep left corner of Xinmin’s court. There were no Xinmin players on hand to rescue the ball and the game ended in favour of SHS.

Final score: 2-1 (22-25, 25-19, 15-12)

Editor’s note: If you recognise yourself or your team mates in any of the photos, please feel free to leave the names behind in the comments section and we will update the captions accordingly. Thanks!