Nanyang Girls' and Dunman qualify for C Division volleyball semi-finals

Story by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports. Photos by Lai Jun Wei and REDintern Thomas Tan

CCAB, Thursday, March 25, 2010 - Nanyang Girls' High booked a spot in the semi-finals for themselves after beating Hua Yi Secondary 2-1 (25-22, 14-25, 25-16) in a Group X quarter-final match of the C Division Girls Volleyball Championship. In a separate match, Dunman Secondary also went through to the next round after beating Ngee Ann Secondary 2-0 (25-17, 25-16).
Hua Yi gave Nanyang a hard fight, erasing an 11-point deficit at 22-11 in the first set to just four at 22-18. Hua Yi saw their streak come to an end after they could not organize their return. A timeout by their side allowed them to continue their fight, with Koh Yi Ying (Nanyang #6) unable to return the ball after a miscommunication.

However, Gwyneth Teo (Nanyang #8) brought the team to set point after a spike from the centre. The Hua Yi #9 denied Nanyang's early win when she sent a soft spike to the centre, with Aow See (Nanyang #3) deflecting it out of bounds with a half-hearted, one-handed receive. A spike by Aow See (Nanyang #3) that went into the net saw Hua Yi come within three points, and Hua Yi further reduced their deficit when they sent a spike to the back line.

But it was not their day as they could not return Nanyang's attack in the next rally, allowing the latter to take the set.

With adrenaline pumping, Hua Yi blitzed to a 12-2 lead over Nanyang in the second set. A timeout by Nanyang was not enough as Hua Yi continued their rampage to lead 15-2. Nanyang managed to take a few points to catch up to 7-18, leading to a timeout by Hua Yi.

Hua Yi were not going to let Nanyang make a comeback and surged ahead to lead 23-10. Nanyang continued to fight back, trying to deny Hua Yi the set. But it was to no avail as Hua Yi took the set 25-14 after Joelle Ng (Nanyang #4) was fouled for a service fault.

In the third set, two consecutive doubles from setter Jenies Foo (Nanyang #2) saw her substituted by reserve setter Joelle Ng (Nanyang #4). This time around, Nanyang were able to organize better and led 10-6 before Hua Yi called for a timeout.

Two excellent serves from Rannie (Hua Yi #16) saw them close to just one point from Nanyang. However, Yi Ying (Nanyang #6) managed to win the contest at the net with Lim Ruijia (Hua Yi #8) to allow Nanyang to pull away. At the changeover, Nanyang led 13-9.

Nanyang continued to build on their lead as quickly as they could. They were soon at match point, leading Hua Yi by 11 points. Hua Yi were not going to go down without a fight, and a spike to the corner saw them take a point. Two bad spikes by Gwyneth (Nanyang #8), one into the net, and one out of bounds, further denied Nanyang the win.

A timeout by Nanyang was called, and upon resumption, Nanyang finally took home the last set after they saw Hua Yi deflect a spike out of bounds.

Nanyang will play Dunman on Tuesday, March 30, 1.30pm at Presbyterian High. The winner of the match will top Group X, and avoid meeting Group Y top seed and defending champions Cedar Girls' Secondary in the semi-finals.

Final Score
Nanyang 2 Hua Yi 1
(25-22, 14-25, 25-16)

More photos in the gallery.

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

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