St. Hilda's deny Cedar Girls' spot in B Division volleyball semi-finals after 2-1 win

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Presbyterian High School, Monday, March 29, 2010 - St. Hilda's Secondary denied Cedar Girls' Secondary a spot in the semi-finals of the National B Division Volleyball Championship after beating them 2-1 (17-25, 25-18, 25-20) in a Group X quarter-final match.

Cedar Girls' had been the hot favourites to win, and were expected to qualify alongside Xinmin Secondary. However, St Hilda's overcame the odds and sent the South Zone champions packing.

Cedar took the first point after Zhiting (St Hilda's #8) served out. However, Joan (Cedar #10) committed a net touch while blocking to give St Hilda's a point. Cedar took an early lead, seeing St Hilda's call for a timeout at the 8-3 mark.

Upon resumption, Cedar continued piling on the pressure. Several good serves from Maureen (Cedar #7), coupled with unforced errors from St Hilda's, saw Cedar extend their lead to 19-10. St Hilda's managed to take a few consecutive points after that, coming close to Cedar at 23-17.

However, Cedar brought themselves to set point after Ashley (Cedar #6) sent a high ball to the far right corner. Ashley (Cedar #6) took the last point for the set after the St Hilda's libero deflected her ball out of bounds.

St Hilda's went into high gear in the second set, running off to a 7-3 lead. Cedar continued to be plagued by service errors, but they fought hard to close in, leveling at 11-11 to erase St Hilda's lead. St Hilda's put a stop to Cedar's scoring streak and went one up, only for Cedar to catch up again. The scores were close, with both teams tied at 15-15.

Cedar suddenly seemed to stumble, allowing St Hilda's to race ahead. They were at 20-15 after Lenis (Cedar #13) spiked out. St Hilda's kept Cedar at bay, and soon saw themselves at set point after Cedar spiked the ball out. St Hilda's were unable to return the ball at the next rally, and also subsequently blocked a ball out, allowing Cedar to take two points.

Unfortunately, the Cedar #9 served out to gift St Hilda's the set.

Cedar were cursed with several unforced errors in the third set. St Hilda's took this to their advantage and blitzed to an 11-5 lead. However, Cedar were not going down without a fight, and tried to make a comeback. They came close to Cedar, and trailed only by one point at 11-10, leading to St Hilda's calling for a timeout.

Lenis (Cedar #13) then served an ace to level the score at 11-11. Joan (Cedar #10) then blocked a spike from Stella (St Hilda's #7) to see Cedar go one up. Joan (Cedar #10) then spiked off the St Hilda's block which saw St Hilda's unable to organize a return.

At the changeover, Cedar led by two points at 13-11. Unfortunately, Cedar saw their slender lead fade away after two bad spikes. The teams were tied for the next few points, but St Hilda's eventually pulled away to lead 22-18.

St Hilda's, cheered on by several supporters, were on a high and raring to take down the final three points. However, Joleen (St Hilda's #18) served out for Cedar to take service. A drop ball by Joan (Cedar #10) saw Cedar narrow the score gap. However, Joan (Cedar #10) spiked out from the opposite corner to see the score stand at 23-20.

St Hilda's saw themselves at match point when Cedar could not organize a return. St Hilda's were gifted the last point after Joan (Cedar #10) spiked out.

St Hilda's move into the semi-finals due to a superior win-loss record compared to Cedar. Along with Presbyterian High, who lost to Xinmin in a later match, the teams have one win and two losses, but St Hilda's had won a total of four sets compared to Cedar’s and Presbyterian High’s three.

St Hilda's finish second in Group X, and qualify alongside leaders Xinmin Secondary. St Hilda's will play Group Y champions Dunman Secondary on Thursday, April 1, 12pm at Presbyterian High.

Xinmin Secondary will play Group Y runner-up Nanyang Girls' High at 1.30pm after that.

Final Score
St Hilda’s 2 Cedar 1
(17-25, 25-18, 25-20)

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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