Story by reader Erwin Wong

CCAB, Friday, March 6, 2009 - C Division volleyball boys West Zone champions and 2008 2nd runners-up Shuqun Secondary School overcame a mid-game meltdown to eke out a 25-20, 14-25, 25-20 victory over fellow Group B quarter-final qualifiers Punggol Secondary School today.

Both teams came into the match on the back of two consecutive straight-set wins over Queensway Secondary School and St Hilda's Secondary School, and it was Shuqun who made the first in-roads to making it three in a row. With #1 Raishan Ali as the primary attacking option, Shuqun jumped out to leads of 6-2 and 15-5, as Punggol struggled to contend with his powerful spikes while making unforced errors themselves. Shuqun maintained a double-digit advantage and had their largest lead of the game at 21-9 when Punggol #4 Andy failed to control the ball.

The game then turned on its head. Off an assist from setter Augustine (#8), a fearsome spike from Punggol's Melson (#7) sparked off a huge 35-18 run bridging the first and second sets as Shuqun conceded their early advantage. With Raishan Ali restricted to back-row spikes due to his position in the rotation, Punggol scored six straight points as Shuqun called a timeout to gather themselves.

A spike from #10 Eng Sin Hau stopped the rot and with Raishan back in the front court again, his irretrievable spike brought Shuqun to within two points of claiming the first set at 23-15. But a 5-0 run by a resilient Punggol team further reduced the arrears to only three points, and an improbable comeback was on the cards. However, Raishan quickly wrapped up the set with two more spikes, the second of which deflected off Punggol's libero, Justin (#1).

Although the first set went in Shuqun's favour, the momentum was clearly with Punggol. The latter built on their strong first set finish by racing out of the blocks in the second, as Melson attacked the net early on for a 3-0 lead. They were active on the defensive end as well, and in the rally of the match, they repelled four consecutive spikes from Raishan with brilliant team blocks and garnering the point to lead 6-2 when a Shuqun attack went out of bounds.

Punggol continued to dominate the set, as Raishan's spikes turned inconsistent and erratic. His spike into the net gave Punggol a 20-10 lead, and two consecutive blocks by Punggol's #6 Filicks from his attempts further extended the advantage to 12 points. Although Shuqun saved four match points, Andy's spike deservedly won the set for Punggol and tied the game at one-all.

Shuqun then gained an early foothold in the deciding rubber set and would never relinquish it. Punggol was beset with erroneous play at their own end while Raishan regained his spiking potency. Melson's poor serve which only found the net gave Shuqun a 13-7 lead. The mandatory change of sides did little to alter the fortunes of Punggol, as Augustine pulled off a brilliant reflex save from Raishan's spike, only for the latter to convert the point at the second time of asking.

Shuqun maintained a healthy lead the rest of the way, and held eight match points when a successful spike from #4 Haziq handed them a commanding 24-16 lead.

Punggol refused to roll over, and Melson led a late defensive rally to score four points in a row, but they were then undone as the umpire called a double-touch foul on a Punggol player, thus putting the lid on another Punggol comeback effort.