“In a way, I feel like they are cheering for me … Asking me to hang on.” — An interview with Hua Yi’s volleyball team

Though the players admitted that they received the luck of the draw during the West Zone Championship, they felt that it was also partially because their training and hard work had borne fruit. None of the players on the team have any primary school experience, which made it slightly more difficult for them to level up to the standards of the top volleyball schools.

For Sze Ting, three out of her four years playing at the Inter-School level had seen Hua Yi receive tough draws and leading to early elimination during the West Zone Championship. By getting into the Nationals, it was indeed something worth celebrating.

But on Hua Yi entering the Nationals Round as a relatively unknown school, she shared, “When we got into the Nationals, many people commented, ‘Hua Yi? Never hear (sic) before.’ I think this will inevitably lead them to take us lightly as an opponent.”

Yakira added, “When we stepped into Presbyterian High (the competition venue), people were shocked. They were probably wondering how come Hua Yi could get into the Nationals. I think they did not know our standard at that time. After our matches, I think people were surprised [that a fourth-placed team could play at this level]. This batch of B Division girls have set the standard for future batches. I hope that we have changed people’s mindset and that in future, other schools will no longer look down on us.”

Though Hua Yi did not make it past the first round of the Nationals, Xiu Zhen felt that the team’s performance was still satisfactory. She said, “We got the result that we wanted. Everybody had hoped to get into the Nationals [and we did it]. The team lived up to expectation with the little experience we had, considering that this was first time playing in the B Division at the National level for everyone.”

Yakira shared her thoughts, “Our team did a great job. I think that being able to get into Nationals is already a very good accomplishment. The effort we put in was definitely worth it. If there isn’t any result, there must be something wrong with the things we do. [By making it into the Nationals], it probably shows that we are somehow up to a certain standard.

[As for being drawn against relatively strong teams in the Nationals], we did feel pressurised when we played against them. However, we try to play our very best and not to take into consideration that they are defending champions etc. Instead, we treat them as normal opponents so that we can play well.

I think that the reason we did not get to beat them is probably because the hours they have put into volleyball is much longer than us. They are certainly more experienced than us and have spent a longer time on court. Their mindset is definitely more stable. When the score gets close, we become very nervous. But for our opponents, they can remain stable and relax partially due to their years of experience. This way, they can continuously keep up their performance.”

Captain Sze Ting singled out one player on the team who particularly deserved commendation. “Everybody did quite well and everybody is worth praising,” she said. “But maybe there is one reserve Secondary Three player, Rainnie Low, who deserves special praise. Actually, she is not a very confident person. During the last match against St Hilda’s, she actually played very well and won the second set for us.”

Yakira also felt that the team’s setter, Xiu Zhen, did exceptionally well during the competition. She credited her setter as partially being the reason for her successful attacks. She said, “The setter is like a bridge. She sets good balls for us so that we can spike. If the ball she sets is not up to standard, I believe that the spiker will have a hard time spiking.

“She is like the backbone of the team because she controls every second touch. She can decide where to set to. Whatever she does, it will somehow determine what result we get. Also, she’s my very close friend so there is this bond between setter and spiker. She knows what kind of ball I need and she understands what I am thinking.”

Being in a sports CCA certainly does not come without its sacrifices. Currently, the team trains three times a week with one day being devoted to training in the gym. During the holidays, training camps will be added to intensify the team’s training. As volleyball takes up most of the players’ time, the importance of time management becomes evident.

Centre spiker Cassandra Kuan, 16 commented, “Normally, volleyball really takes up most of my time. But I divide my time equally. Sometimes it becomes really very difficult but I still must cope and adapt. I must tell myself that I want to do well and I must do well in studies. I cannot let my parents down and screw up my studies just because of volleyball. Before matches, my classmates gave me words of encourage and told me, ‘Trust in your ability’. My friends really helped me a lot.”

Sze Ting further shared, “I am an N Level student and I wanted to step down last year [in Secondary Four] as I felt demoralised for not making it to Nationals. In our school, N Level students have the option of stepping down in Secondary Four or Five. But after that, I felt that volleyball is my passion so I decided to go for it and stay on. There were times when I felt like giving up. I felt very tired and didn’t feel like going for training. I kept asking why training ended so late and why was it so tough that it made us so tired until we could not concentrate. But now, after I have stood down, I keep yearning for more training!”

Xiu Zhen on the other hand gave things from a slightly different perspective. “It is not so much about sacrifices. Certainly there is less time spent on the computer or watching television programmes as I have to use it to complete my assignments and homework. But I feel that now, I spend my time more efficiently because I can accomplish more things instead of wasting time on the computer or television.”

The B Division journey for these seven players on the team has come to an end. But as they graduate from the school, the fond memories that they have gained from their time playing for Hua Yi will certainly follow them for life, especially the fighting spirit, the excellence, and most importantly, the friendship forged.