By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports
Cassandra Kuan (Hua Yi #6) spikes past Yan Jing (Cedar #9). (Photo 1 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Presbyterian High, Thursday, March 3, 2011 — Cedar Girls’ Secondary held off a late comeback by Hua Yi Secondary to win their first round Group D match 2-0 (25-17, 25-21) at the National B Division Girls’ Volleyball Championship. Hua Yi, the West Zone third runners-up, are now almost out of the tournament.
In the later Group D match, Presbyterian High assured themselves of a spot in the next round of after seeing off St Hilda’s Secondary 2-0 (25-17, 25-15).
Cedar had a good start to their game as they stormed off to an early lead. Pressuring Hua Yi was Cedar’s Maureen Han (#3) as she fired off several powerful serves at Hua Yi. Hua Yi were increasingly troubled in the first set as they could not seem to organise any credible attack on Cedar. It was not long before Cedar commanded a 19-2 lead.
Cedar’s onslaught was only halted when their serve went out of bounds, but by then, they were leading 21-3. Hua Yi were however unfazed by their disadvantage and continuously fought for every point. Their hard work paid off as they continued to hold Cedar at bay while they chalked up several points for themselves.
Cedar were simply unable to finish off the game as mistakes and unforced errors crept into their play. They had to sit by and watch Hua Yi storm right back into the game as they made an incredible comeback. With determination and perseverance, Hua Yi went on a 13-point streak to close in on Cedar 23-16.
Charissa Beh (Cedar #7) however stopped Hua Yi’s comeback attempt as she took set point for the team via a cross court spike. Cedar were unable to secure a win as Hua Yi’s Lim Sze Ting (#3) sent her spike through the Cedar block to deny Cedar the final point. However, Cedar finally sealed the set after a Hua Yi spike in the next rally went out of bounds.
The second set was a much closer affair. With the score tied on several occasions, it seemed as if the match could go either way. Despite Cedar taking the lead once again, their play was plagued with countless unforced errors which allowed Hua Yi to stay very much in the game. Despite Hua Yi being hot on their heels, Cedar soon secured set point after Hua Yi were caught off guard by a shock one-touch return from Cedar.
Cedar were again unable to finish off the set as they lost points to Hua Yi after their spikes went out of bounds on two occasions. With Hua Yi trailing only by three-points, many were wondering if they would manage to stage an upset, but it all came to an end after a Hua Yi player fouled with a net contact, giving Cedar the last point and the match.
Final score
Cedar 2 Hua Yi 0
25-17, 25-21
Quak Guting (Cedar #6) dives to rescue a shot. (Photo 2 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
For more photos of the other match, go to the next page.
Hua Yi #3 is Sze TIng*** not sze ming.
Can I request to see more photos for group C Nationals b’division girls? It seems that there is very little report on group C.
Hi. All the vball photos are up. We only have one vball volunteer and so can’t cover everything.
Hi Volleyball,
You gotta understand me on this one. As you probably know, there are two matches going on at the same time and it’s very hard for me to split myself between the two courts. Especially since I have to shoot and write at the same time. Therefore, I would have to make a choice to stick to one court in order to get sufficient pictures and material for a story.
It’s also kinda unfortunate that the Group C matches are held right at the start. This means that it’s an additional hassle to cross from one end of the spectator stand to the other due to all the teams being present.
Certainly we will try to give everyone some amount of coverage, but sometimes, it’s just quite beyond our means unless we have more volunteers. Hope you understand.