Jurong secure Group A top spot after beating Hua Yi in West Zone B Division girls volleyball

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Hua Yi Secondary, Monday, January 24, 2011 – Jurong Secondary clinched top spot in their group after beating Hua Yi Secondary 2-0 (25-13, 25-12) in their Group A match at the B Division Girls West Zone Volleyball Championship. Hua Yi finish second in the group and will also enter the next round. In the other group match, Hillgrove Secondary beat Yuhua Secondary 2-1 (25-20, 13-25, 25-22).

Jurong started the match well as Lim Ziqing (Jurong #8) drew first blood after spiking past Hua Yi’s two-man block into the empty corner. She took the subsequent point as well after stuffing out a loose ball from Hua Yi at the net. Jurong established a 4-0 lead, and saw Hua Yi take their first point only after Ziqing’s spike found the net. However, Jurong’s advances never slowed down as they charged to lead 10-2, prompting a time-out from Hua Yi.

Despite Hua Yi dishing out several good spikes subsequently, they were not enough to break Jurong’s defences as Jurong continued their scoring streak. At times, Hua Yi found opportunities to notch several points, but they still could not match Jurong’s streak. At the 19-10 mark, Hua Yi called for another time-out but it provided no respite as Jurong continued edging towards set point. With Jurong at the 23-12 mark after an ‘out’ serve by Xiu Zhen (Hua Yi #13), Ziqing (Jurong #8) powered her team to set point after forcing a touch-out from her opponents via a strong serve.

However, Hua Yi were not going to give Jurong a quick win as Lim Ruijia (Hua Yi #8) stole the next point after her return found the backline, catching Jurong offguard. Jurong did not allow Hua Yi to steal another point as Tan Libing (Jurong #9) finished off the set with a drop shot from the opposite corner.

Jurong started the second on an equally strong footing. Several strong serves from Rachel Lau (Jurong #12) ensured that her team chalked up a 5-0 lead early. Despite her serve at the next point finding the net, Jurong had no qualms taking back control of serve at the subsequent rally. Jurong continued to pressure Hua Yi with their serves, scoring several points for the team. A time-out by Hua Yi at the 13-5 mark could do little to stop Jurong’s rampage as the latter blitzed ahead.

Hua Yi were determined not to give up and fought hard to take points of their own. But despite their valiant efforts, they soon saw the score stand at 22-10 in favour of Jurong. Ruijia (Hua Yi #8) continued her team’s effort to hold off Jurong as her spike from the outside was unreturned by her opponents. Libing (Jurong #9) however took the next point after her tap caught Hua Yi offguard when it clipped the net to fall out of reach of any Hua Yi player. Hua Yi found difficulty in organizing a return on the next rally which saw Jurong take match point. Jurong then sealed the match after Ziqing’s (Jurong #8) serve was deflected out by a Hua Yi player.

Final score
Jurong 2 Hua Yi 0
(25-13, 25-12)

Round 2 Grouping:
Group X: Jurong, Bukit Panjang Govt High, Nanyang Girls’
Group Y: Hua Yi Secondary, Shuqun Secondary, Unity Secondary

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