U17 Beach Volleyball: Anderson emerge champions in girls’ final

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Siloso Beach, Sunday, May 29, 2011 — Anderson Secondary’s Team 1 (Denise Lee and Jolly Chan) emerged champions of the Volleyball Association of Singapore’s U17 Beach Volleyball Competition after beating Team X (Iris Teng and Tan Xin Lerk) 2-1 (21-13, 14-21, 15-10) in the final.

Anderson had entered the final undefeated and held a psychological advantage as they had beaten Team X, comprising players from Nanyang JC, before in the preliminaries. Anderson’s Team 1 had received an automatic qualification into the quarter-final where they played against their Team 2 (Theresa Tay and Junipher Thang), winning 21-11. It was then another all-Anderson affair as they played their Team 3 (Cally Lim and Ong Lee Ting) in the semi-final where they triumphed 21-18, 21-13.

Team X on the other hand had a tougher match against Bukit Panjang’s Team 1 (Tiffany Yeo and Debbie Chang), before seeing off Dunman High’s Team 1 (Laura Lim and Janet Tay) in the semi-finals.

Anderson started the set well as they raced off to an early lead. Strong spikes from Denise Lee (Anderson, #1) ensured that Team X were left to play catchup. Team X were lacking in the spiking department as they were unable to put up many credible attacks against Anderson. Soon, Anderson were leading 19-13 after an ace from Denise (Anderson, #1). They then took set point after a spike from Xin Lek (Team X, #2) went out of bounds. Denise (Anderson, #1) grabbed the advantage and sealed the set after spiking into an empty corner.

Things took a step back for Anderson in the second set as their slow start saw Team X run off to lead 10-1. The scoring streak stopped momentarily after Iris Teng (Team X, #1) served out of bounds. Anderson fought hard to close the gap and managed to come within four points to trail 8-12. Team X however quickly sealed the set 21-14.

Team X again took an early lead in the third set. Anderson seemed to be struggling after the second set but eventually managed to tie the score 5-5. They then turned the tables on Team X to take the lead and held on all the way to finish 15-10.

Final score
Anderson Team 1 2 Team X 1
21-13, 14-21, 15-10

In the 3rd/4th placing match, Anderson Team 3 (Cally Lim and Ong Lee Ting) swept aside Dunman High’s Team 1 (Laura Lim and Janet Tay) 21-18, 21-8.

The team’s road to the final
Anderson Team 1 (Denise Lee and Jolly Chan)
Preliminaries:
beat Bukit Panjang Team 2 (Jodie Lee and Guo Hong Xia) 21-14
beat Team X (Iris Teng and Tan Xin Lerk) 21-13
beat Hillgrove Team A (Brenda Chan and Chua Wei Lin) 21-7
Knockout round: auto-advance
Quarter-final: beat Anderson Team 2 (Theresa Tay and Junipher Thang) 21-11
Semi-final: beat Anderson Team 3 (Cally Lim and Ong Lee Ting) 21-18, 21-13
Final: beat Team X (Iris Teng and Tan Xin Lerk) 21-13, 14-21, 15-10

Team X (Iris Teng and Tan Xin Lerk)
Preliminaries:
beat Bukit Panjang Team 2 (Jodie Lee and Guo Hong Xia) 21-12
beat Hillgrove Team A (Brenda Chan and Chua Wei Lin) 21-8
lost Anderson Team 1 (Denise Lee and Jolly Chan) 13-21
Knockout round: walkover North Vista (Yeo Xin and Akicia Kou)
Quarter-final: beat Bukit Panjang Team 1 (Tiffany Yeo and Debbie Chang) 21-18
Semi-final: beat Dunman High Team 1 (Laura Lim and Janet Tay) 21-15, 21-11
Final: lost Anderson Team 1 (Denise Lee and Jolly Chan) 13-21, 21-14, 10-15

For more photos, go to the next page.