Defending champs Nanyang Girls’ through to B Division volleyball final after overcoming Xinmin 3-1

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Presbyterian High School, Thursday, April 1, 2010 - Defending champions Nanyang Girls' High held off favourites Xinmin Secondary 3-1 (25-16, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20) to book themselves a place in the final of the National B Division Girls Volleyball Championship. Xinmin saw their unbeaten streak come to an end at an especially unfortunate time, as they missed out on championship glory after an incredible run.

Nanyang were well on form for the match and had an incredible first set, keeping Xinmin under 10 points for a good half of the set. Despite Xinmin attempting to make a comeback, Nanyang easily took the first set. However, the North Zone champions were not going to be felled so easily as they fought back in the second set to take the lead. They held off Nanyang and clinched the set.

The third set was a similar scenario as the first as Nanyang blitzed to a lead after being held by Xinmin in the early part. Xinmin had no answer to Nanyang and saw their opponents take the set. The fourth set saw Nanyang take an early lead as well. Despite Xinmin catching up midway, Nanyang quickly pulled ahead, and sealed the match without giving Xinmin any chance at making a come back.

1st set
Rachael Ramachandran (Xinmin #1) opened the set with a serve that saw Eleanor Chua (Nanyang #1) unable to retrieve. However, her serve subsequently found the net for Nanyang to draw level. Nanyang took the lead after Eleanor (Nanyang #1) spiked to an empty spot in the left corner. The lead grew further after Jaime Lee (Xinmin #18) spiked into the net. Nanyang took the next two points to lead 6-1, leading to a time out by Xinmin.

After a long rally, Jaime (Xinmin #18) finally broke Nanyang's scoring streak when she spiked off Eleanor's (Nanyang #1) block. However, good blocking by Eleanor (Nanyang #1) in the subsequent rallies saw Nanyang lead 9-3. They continued applying pressure on Xinmin and blitzed to a 19-10 lead, leading to a time out by Xinmin.

It could not stop Nanyang from raking in more points, and they soon saw themselves at 23-13 after Felicia (Xinmin #12) sent Chan Chuning's (Nanyang #5) spike out of bounds. After a rally, Nanyang were unfortunate not to take set point after seeing Chuning (Nanyang #5) spike out. Rachael (Xinmin #1) then spiked down which saw Low Yiyuan (Nanyang #1) unable to return the ball with her one-handed receive. Chuning (Nanyang #5) then spiked another ball out of bounds for the score to reach 23-16.

Nanyang quickly called for a time out, and upon the restart, Chuning (Nanyang #5) promptly took set point with a spike from the outside. Eleanor (Nanyang #1) then sealed the set after spiking to Samantha Ang (Xinmin #5), who deflected the ball out.

2nd set
The second set was a close one as both teams were neck and neck right from the start. Eleanor (Nanyang #1) and Jaime (Xinmin #18) traded blows to see the score edge up slowly. With the score tied at 8-8, Xinmin took the lead after Chuning (Nanyang #5) executed a drop shot into the net. Spiking errors from Nanyang saw Xinmin able to pull ahead to lead 16-11, leading to a timeout from Nanyang.

However, Jacqueline Phua (Xinmin #7) fired off an ace to increase the lead. Jacqueline (Xinmin #7) then took another point with another good serve. Nanyang were left to play catchup, with Xinmin eventually sealing the set 25-18.

3rd set
Nanyang started off the third set on a good note. They took a 7-2 lead before Xinmin called for a timeout. Xinmin's subset Samantha (Xinmin #1) found herself the target of several of Nanyang's attacks. Xinmin's open spiker Felicia (Xinmin #12) was also encountering difficulty in her attacks as she sent many spikes into the net.

Nanyang on the other hand were going all out to receive stray balls. Unseen in their previous matches, Nanyang were taking the extra effort to chase down loose balls and dive to pick up strong spikes. This worked to their favour as they commanded an extensive 20-13 lead in the third set as well.

However, Xinmin were not going to let slip the third set so easily and fought back hard. They manage to close in, only to see Nanyang pull away to lead 23-16 after a light tap from the back court by Eleanor (Nanyang #1). Chuning (Nanyang #5) unfortunately spiked into the net on the next rally to see Xinmin close in. However, Nanyang took set point after a good serve. Chuning (Nanyang #5) then sealed the set for the team after Rachael (Xinmin #1) blocked the ball into her own court.

4th set
Nanyang took the first point after Eleanor (Nanyang #1) sent a spike just out of reach of Samantha (Xinmin #5). However, Jamie (Xinmin #18) spiked down a loose ball to level the score at 1-1. The scores were kept close as Xinmin were determined not to let Nanyang take the game. However, Xinmin were still plagued by spiking errors. Coupled with Nanyang's clever play of sending the ball into any empty spot they could find, Xinmin saw themselves trailing 13-19.

However, two consecutive out balls by Celene (Nanyang #2) saw Nanyang take a timeout. Nanyang continued to hold off Xinmin's advances, and were at 23-18 after Eleanor (Nanyang #1) sent the ball to an empty spot. They then took match point after Felicia (Xinmin #12) deflected Chuning's (Nanyang #5) serve out of bounds.

Jaime (Xinmin #18) held off Nanyang's celebrations when she pressed down a loose ball, leading to a timeout by Nanyang. However, a net touch by Nanyang in the next rally saw Xinmin narrow the gap to just four points. Eleanor (Nanyang #1) sealed the match after she spiked for the Xinmin backrow, which was subsequently deflected out of bounds.

Nanyang Girls’ will face Dunman Secondary in the final on Friday, April 9th, 1.30pm at Woodlands Sports Hall. Nanyang will be aiming to achieve a double after both their B and C Division teams made it to their respective final.

Xinmin Secondary will play St Hilda's Secondary in the 3rd/4th placing match on Wednesday, April 7, 3pm at CCAB.

Final Score
Nanyang 3 Xinmin 1
(25-16, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20)