Jurong Secondary hold off Fairfield Methodist in Round 2 of U-16 volleyball

Story and photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

Hougang Sports Hall, Thursday, November 6, 2008 – Jurong Secondary held off Fairfield Methodist’s second set comeback attempt to win 2-0 (25-15, 25-22) in a Round 2, Group Y match at the 2008 National U-16 Girls Junior Volleyball Championship.

It was going to be a very tough match from the beginning as Jurong pulled ahead to establish an early lead through their spiker Cynthia Lai (#12). Fairfield tried to fight back with strong serves while hoping for Jurong errors to earn points.

With effort, Fairfield closed the gap. At the 11-10 mark, Eleanor Toh (Fairfield, #7) served a ball which deflected off a Jurong player and out of play, to bring Fairfield level on points with Jurong, prompting a Jurong time out.

Upon resumption of the game, Eleanor (Fairfield, #7) served the ball out of bounds to give Jurong the lead again. Krystal (Jurong, #8) served a hard shot which saw no takers as it just clipped the boundary line to remain in. Further errors by Fairfield saw Jurong pull ahead to 15-11.

Krystal (Jurong, #8) and Ma Jia Hui (Jurong, #4) were instrumental in extending the lead as their serves often left the Fairfield players reeling. They were backed up by their blockers who faithfully stuffed out several spikes by Fairfield.

Soon, Jurong were at set point. Ma Jia Hui (Jurong, #4) finished off the set with a serve which saw Chew Hui Min (Fairfield, #3) touching it out to give them the first set 25-15.

Jurong pulled ahead to lead in the second set as well at 4-2. Fairfield soon caught up, going into long rallies with Jurong in a bid to see who would commit an error first. Unfortunately for Jurong, several points were gifted to Fairfield based on several faults committed. Fairfield briefly took the lead at 8-7, but the Fairfield #12 served the ball out of bounds to allow Jurong to tie.

Ma Jia Hui (Jurong, #4) dominated the later part of the set with her lethal serves. Though the Fairfield defence could receive some of the serves, their attack was surprisingly weak as compared to their previous games, with Hui Min (Fairfield, #3) a little off form as she couldn’t deliver her well placed spikes. Rather, Kimberly Kiew (Fairfield, #9) took on some of the responsibility of the attack in the front whereas Eleanor (Fairfield, #7) contributed some with her powerful back court spikes.

Every hard-earned point was accompanied by loud cheers from the players. Hui Min (Fairfield, #3) though off form in her attack, still put up a strong defence, retrieving several loose balls and putting up some firm blocking.

Two position faults from Jurong helped Fairfield close the gap. The usually quiet and expressionless Jurong coach also could not help but show his frustration at some of the mistakes made by his players.

The second set tightened up considerably with both teams tied at 22-22. Seah Siew Hoon (Jurong, #7) then served a good ball to edge her team ahead 23-22. Another serve by her saw a touch out by the Fairfield #12 to bring Jurong to set point.

All eyes were on Siew Hoon (Jurong, #7) as she delivered her serve for the last point. The ball sailed towards the Fairfield libero who could not receive the ball, giving Jurong the set and the win.

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!