St. Hilda’s beat Xinmin 3-2 in U-16 volleyball semi-final

By reader Claira Ng.

Hougang Sports Hall, Thursday, 13 November, 2008 – St Hilda’s Secondary beat Xinmin Secondary 3-2 (24-26, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16, 15-5) in the semi-final of the recently concluded 2008 National U-16 Boys Junior Volleyball Championship.

Having beaten Xinmin 2-1 before in the group stages, St Hilda’s (SHS) were keen to see a repeat of that victory to progress into the final. For Xinmin, it was a chance to exact revenge.

SHS #1 took the first point with a drop shot which the Xinmin libero failed to retrieve. SHS earned yet another point when a spike from Andy (Xinmin #8) hit the antenna.

Like their previous encounter, it was a very close game, with Xinmin following closely behind SHS. Trailing 12-16, Xinmin called for a timeout. Upon resumption, Xinmin saw a change in their play as they quickly gained points with their powerful spikes and blocks to tie at 18-18, leading to a timeout called by SHS.

The score was close, with the set going into a deuce at 24-24. It was eventually Xinmin that took home the first set with a spike down the line from their #18 to win 26-24.

The second set started off with SHS leading 1-0 when Xinmin failed to bring the ball over in the first rally. The score was tight right until 6-6. But SHS quickly established a four-point lead at 10-6 with SHS #6 scoring their 10th point. They extended their lead further to 17-8 after the Xinmin #18 spiked a ball out.

But a miscommunication between SHS #1 and #7 led to Xinmin gaining another point. SHS were leading by a great number of points, but Xinmin did not give up. With their determination, they pressed forward and chased up, spiking with all their might.

But it was not to be as SHS eventually ended the second set 25-18, but not without having to put up with a tough fight from Xinmin.

In the third set, Xinmin took the first point with a service ace. Like the first two sets, the start of this set was equally as close, with both teams neck and neck. They were tied right till 15-15, after the SHS #15 spiked down a ball into the Xinmin court.

However, Xinmin soon established a one-point lead and after some good play, furthered their lead by at least three points. With their powerful, constant and steady balls, they were eventually close to winning the set at 23-17.

But the fate of SHS changed and they chased up to 21-23 after the Xinmin #17 spiked an out ball. But their efforts were wasted after an out ball from them saw Xinmin take the third set 25-21.

With two sets in their pockets, Xinmin were raring to win the fourth set. They took the first point, and pulled ahead by three points over SHS. But some minor blunders by Xinmin gave SHS a chance to catch up.

SHS #7 and #11’s powerful spikes, coupled with some lapses in the Xinmin defence saw SHS overtake Xinmin and bring the score to 9-6. They soon furthered their lead to seven points at 16-9 after a spike by the Xinmin #18 was blocked by the SHS #7.

Xinmin’s efforts to take this set was futile as SHS quickly wrapped up the fourth set 25-16.

With both teams having two sets apiece, the rubber set would decide who would progress into the final. SHS won this set with a convincing score of 15-5 to outlast Xinmin.

It was definitely a visual treat as the both teams were relatively evenly matched. But perhaps Lady Luck was not on Xinmin’s side as SHS proved to be the better of the two to march into the final.

Final score: 3-2 (24-26, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16, 15-5)

St Hilda’s eventually beat Yishun Town Secondary 3-0 in the final to win the U-16 championship once again while Xinmin beat Shuqun Secondary 3-1 to come in third.

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!