Dunman break Jurong hearts to qualify for B Division girls’ volleyball semi-final

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

CCAB, Thursday, March 25, 2010 - Dunman Secondary broke the hearts of Jurong Secondary when they pipped the latter to a semi-final spot after beating them 2-0 (25-16, 25-20) in a Group Y quarter-final match at the National B Division Girls Volleyball Championship.

Jurong, the 2009 B Division girls second runners-up, needed to notch a win in order to stand a chance of qualifying after losing to Nanyang Girls' High in a previous match.

Jurong took the first point of the match when Lim Ziqing's (Jurong #8) spike was deflected out by Huijie (Dunman #7). However, Jia En (Dunman #2) quickly took back the point when she thundered a stray ball back to Jurong. Dunman then had a bad drop shot and saw another drop shot attempt stuffed out by Jurong. Two service aces from Ee Jin (Jurong #7) saw the team lead 5-1.

Jurong further increased their lead to 7-2, but they soon saw Dunman catch up at 12-12 after a good spike from Jia En (Dunman #2). Dunman then turned the tables against Jurong after a strong serve by Weiyu (Dunman #3).

Dunman then established an 18-14 lead over Jurong and managed to keep Jurong at bay. Jurong were unable to break free beyond the 14-point mark, and saw Dunman increase the gap to seven points at 21-14.

A timeout was called, and this broke Dunman's momentum as Huijie (Dunman #7) served out upon resumption. However, Jia En (Dunman #2) quickly took back control of service when she spiked down hard. Ziqing (Jurong #8) managed to take another point for the team but Dunman took back the game when setter Claira (#11) spiked to an empty spot.

Dunman were at set point after Jurong deflected a loose ball out of bounds and then took the set 25-16 after Cynthia Lai (Jurong #11) saw her spike find the net.

Jurong managed to take an early lead in the second set as well. However, it was again erased after Dunman caught up at the 9-9 mark. Dunman went one up over Jurong after the latter deflected a serve out of bounds.

Dunman further increased their lead after Jia En (Dunman #2) stuffed out a spike from Jiang Qiuyun (Jurong #6). Dunman continued raking in points, and two timeouts by Jurong at the 14-10 and 18-11 marks provided no relief from Dunman's onslaught as they soon saw Dunman reach the 23-18 mark.

Despite a minor come back via several good serves from Ziqing (Jurong #8), Dunman were soon at match point after a powerful spike by Jia En (Dunman #2) from the opposite corner. Ziqing (Jurong #8) managed to hold off Dunman's win with a spike that was deflected out, but Dunman took the last point when their spike rolled along the net to fall into an empty spot in Jurong's court.

Jurong, who have two losses from two games played, are out of the national championships. Dunman will play the other semi-final qualifier against Nanyang Girls' High on Monday, March 29 at 1.30pm to determine who will top Group Y. The match will be held at Presbyterian High.

Final Score
Dunman 2 Jurong 0
(25-16, 25-20)

More photos in the gallery.

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