Xinmin defend title against Dunman to win C Division Boys’ Volleyball Championship

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Woodlands Sports Hall, Thursday, April 8, 2010 - Defending champions Xinmin Secondary retained their crown as they beat Dunman Secondary 3-1 (25-19, 25-11, 17-25, 25-14) in the National C Division Boys’ Volleyball Championship final.

Both teams had a close start in the first set, with the teams neck and neck till the second half of the set. Xinmin pulled ahead in the final few moments before taking the set. Xinmin had an easy second set as they blitzed to a decisive lead. They led from start to finish and secured the set with ease.

Dunman however were not going down without a fight as they put up strong opposition in the third set. They held Xinmin 8-0 before their opponents manage to take a point. Xinmin could not turn the tables on Dunman, and saw the third set slip to Dunman. A rejuvenated Dunman tried to keep Xinmin at bay in the fourth set and they succeeded in the first half. Xinmin summoned all their strength and pulled ahead, leaving Dunman in their wake. They took the set 25-14 to earn themselves their second championship win in a row.

1st set
Kevin Sia (Xinmin #10) took the first point of the match with a spike from the opposite corner. Benjamin Lee (Xinmin #12) then took another point for the team when his spike off Dunman's block fell into the latter's court. Chai Ming Hwee (Xinmin, #7) unfortunately committed a ´double' in the next rally for Dunman to take a point.

Xinmin took an initial lead, but eventually saw Dunman level at 9-9. Dunman then went one up when Kevin (Xinmin #10) spiked out. However, Xinmin drew level again at 10-10 after Dunman served into the net.

It was a close set, but Xinmin eventually managed to lead 19-16, leading a time out from Dunman. However, it was not enough to stop Xinmin as they took the next point with a quick ball from Pai Hong Xiang (Xinmin, #14). Despite Dunman managing to score a few points next, Xinmin were at set point after Jasper Oh (Dunman #6) spiked into the net. Xinmin had to hold off their win momentarily when Kevin (Xinmin #10) spiked out, but Timothy Tiew (Xinmin #13) took the last point with a quick ball to give Xinmin the set.

2nd set
Toe De Xuan (Xinmin #9) helped the team take the first point with a serve that could not be received by Liew Jun Wan (Dunman #12). Mark Shen (Dunman #11) then saw his spike blocked for Xinmin to go another point up. De Xuan (Xinmin #9) subsequently fired off an ace for Xinmin to lead 3-0. Two drop shots by Dunman that went out of bounds, and a spike that found the net saw Xinmin lead 6-0.

Dunman got a chance at a breather after Benjamin Lee (Xinmin #12) was fouled for a ´holding'. Xinmin however took back service when Kevin (Xinmin #10) spiked the ball off the Dunman block into the latter's court. Despite commanding a 9-2 lead, Dunman slowly started a resurgence. They narrowed the score gap to 9-6 only for Mark (Dunman #11) to serve out of bounds.

Xinmin then pulled ahead, leading 21-9. Dunman simply could not catch up, and Xinmin sealed the set after Kevin (Xinmin #10) spiked straight at the Dunman libero Ng Jun Hao (#18), who deflected it out of bounds.

3rd set
Xinmin started encountering difficulties in the third set. Kevin (Xinmin #10) spiked the ball into the net on the first rally for Dunman to take the point. Xinmin were unable to return the ball, and subsequently deflecting a Dunman serve out of bounds for their opponents to lead 3-0. Timothy Tiew (Xinmin #13) was then fouled for a ´double', followed by a bad receive from Xinmin, forcing the coach to call for a time out.

Xinmin's woes continued as they saw Dunman establish an 8-0 lead. Despite fighting back, they could not stop Dunman from storming to lead 23-14. Xinmin called for a time out, and it saw Xinmin hold off Dunman for two points before the latter took set point. Xinmin continued giving Dunman a hard fight and narrowed the score at 24-17. Kevin (Xinmin #10) unfortunately blocked a ball out of bounds, for Dunman to take the third set.

4th set
With Dunman having found their footing, they went all out to deny Xinmin the fourth set, and potentially the match. They held kept the scores level from the 2-2 mark all the way to the 7-7 mark.

Xinmin went all out to break free from Dunman's grasp, and finally took a slender lead at 11-7 before Dunman called for a time out. Xinmin worked hard on their advantage, and pounded Dunman. Dunman suddenly appeared to have lost steam, and saw Xinmin pull ahead to lead 23-13. All seemed lost when Xinmin were gifted match point after Dunman were unable to return the ball. However, Dunman spiked the ball to an empty spot in Xinmin's court to hold off the latter's win. Jasper (Dunman #6) then forced a touch out from Xinmin to see the score stand at 24-14.

The fight in the next rally was intense. Xinmin thought that they had won after Ming Hwee (Xinmin #7) spiked a ball down which saw Dunman apparently being unable to get. Dunman stretched out and managed to send the ball back to Xinmin amidst loud cheers from the crowd. But it was to no avail, as Dunman committed a ´double', to gift the last point to Xinmin.

Coming into the match as defending champions certainly wasn't easy. Xinmin captain Chai Ming Hwee (#7) shared, "Most of us were quite nervous, but we communicated very well with our team mates. We were quite nervous in the third set, and we were being complacent. Dunman tried their best, and put up a great fight." He added, "I think our team's performance was pretty well. We worked together to win the championship."

Final Score
Xinmin 3 Dunman 1
(25-17, 25-11, 17-25, 25-14)

Xinmin Lineup
#1 Wong Sik Hoe Aderic
#2 Joshua Lim Jia Wei
#5 Kelvin Heng Yin Kuang
#7 Chai Ming Hwee (Captain)
#8 Tan Ee Hean Gjorn
#9 Toe De Xuan
#10 Kevin Sia Wei Ming
#11 Tan Yong Hao Glen
#12 Lee Wei Ren Benjamin
#13 Tiew Wei Chong Timothy
#14 Pai Hong Xiang
#15 Pai Hong Wei (Libero)

Dunman Lineup
#1 Terence Lee Zheng Hong
#3 Thomas Lee Wei Jie
#4 Ong Wei Xiang (Captain)
#5 Jerome Wong Jing Kai
#6 Jasper Oh Sze Xiong
#7 Emanuel Lim Zhuang Yang
#8 Tan Yi Liang
#9 Aston Lim Chin Hoa
#10 Kingsley Kuan Jun Hao
#11 Mark Shen Fan Yang
#12 Liew Jun Wan
#18 Ng Jun Hao (Libero)