Asian Schools Volleyball: Singapore go down to Iran in opening group match despite hard fight

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports in Da Nang, Vietnam

Tien Son Sport Complex, Monday, August 22, 2011 — Singapore went down to Iran 0-3 (17-25, 20-25, 20-25) in both teams’ opening Group B match at the Asian School Girls Volleyball Championship. The Iranians had established a commanding position in the match, but the Singapore team were no pushovers and gave their opponents a hard fight right to the finish.

The Singapore team had a total of 21 kills, seven blocks and four service aces. Subset Lim Chien Wen (Singapore #9) was the team’s top scorer with two kills, five blocks and two service aces. Right from the first set, she firmly rooted herself as a credible stopper as she intercepted many of the Iranians’ attacks.

Open spiker Rachel Lau (Singapore #16) came on as a substitute in the second set, but went on to establish herself as the team’s second highest scorer, and the top Singapore spiker of the match with six kills. Together with Chien Wen and open spiker Jolly Chan (Singapore #5), the trio constantly troubled the Iranians, particularly in the third set.

Rachel (Singapore #16) commented on her performance.

“I think that today, I managed to perform to my usual level because during previous trainings, I could not play at my normal standard. Today, I managed to play like how I did at the B Division final. I just let go [and played to my best] because I did not want to lose this match,” she said. “This match has certainly helped me gain confidence. I feel better with the team now, I can fit in better.”

Singapore had started off with an early 5-2 lead, but quickly saw the Iranians level the score and subsequently turning the tables on Singapore. Soon, the Iranians had established a five-point lead at 13-8, prompting Singapore head coach Mr William Chua to call for a time out.

However, the team continued to face problems in their attacks from the outside as the Iranians further increased their lead. Singapore could not seem to settle in as the Iranians reached the 23-15 mark.

A time-out call by Singapore allowed for some breathing space, and Eleanor Chua (Singapore #1) managed to stop the Iranians’ scoring streak on the restart with a quick ball. However, Ong Weiyu (Singapore #3) sent her serve into the net for Iran to take set point. The Iranians then sealed the set after Singapore were unable to return their attack.

The Iranian scoring streak continued in the second set as they raced to a 4-0 lead, prompting an early time-out call by coach William Chua. Upon the restart however, Iran took yet another point after Singapore were unable to get to their serve.

Shaky play by Singapore saw Iran race off with the lead once again. By the second technical time-out, Iran were well in the lead with a 16-8 advantage.

However, Singapore suddenly put up a miraculous comeback. Rachel Lau (Singapore #16) made the most impact in the second half of the set as she troubled the Iranian defense with her attacks from the outside. Coupled with mistakes from the Iranian side, Singapore managed to narrow the score gap to three points as they trailed 18-21.

However, a position fault in the Singapore team briefly upset their momentum as Iran regained the upperhand once again.

A drop ball by the Iranians into an empty spot saw them draw closer to set point. Rachel (Singapore #16) briefly halted the Iranians’ progress with a well executed drop shot from the outside, but Ryshire Wu (Singapore #2) could not serve over and Iran were now at set point.

Despite Iran sending their serve out of bounds in the subsequent rally, a powerful spike by Chamlanani Neda (Iran #8) saw Singapore unable to return, thus sealing the second set for Iran after 31 minutes of play.

With things seeming easier for the Iranians, they made several lineup changes in the third set. This did not affect their momentum as they blitzed to a 12-4 lead.

It seemed like the Iranians would have an easy win but Singapore proved that they were not to be written off easily.

A five-point scoring streak by the Republic saw Singapore pull to within three points of Iran. A block and two kills by Rachel Lau (Singapore #16), a kill by setter Cassandra Tay (Singapore #7) and a service ace by Lim Chien Wen (Singapore #9) contributed to this comeback as the Iranians quickly called for a time-out.

Singapore’s scoring streak continued as Chien Wen (Singapore #9) fired off yet another ace. A drop shot by Cassandra Tay (Singapore #7) then narrowed the score gap to one point at 12-11.

Singapore’s efforts finally paid off as they leveled 12-12 with Iran after setter Cassandra (Singapore #7) caught the Iranians by surprise after she spiked at the second touch to see the ball unreturned.

The Iranians pulled ahead once again, only to see Singapore race back to level 14-14.

Eleanor Chua then took Singapore one-up with a kill from the centre. Ryshire Wu (Singapore #2) then fired off a service ace for Singapore to lead 16-14.

With several changes made to the lineup, Iran quickly made a comeback. However, strong attacks from Chien Wen (Singapore #9), Rachel (#16) and Jolly Chan (#5) proved to be the stumbling blocks for Iran as they could not shake free from Singapore’s chase.

With the score at 20-20, a drop shot by Chien Wen (Singapore #9) went awry and landed out of bounds. Iran then set themselves comfortably in the driving seat as they powered their way to victory with their powerful spikes.

Despite the loss, Singapore Chef de Mission Mr Lim Yan Hock was very pleased with the team’s performance.

“I think it was a good fight. The scores were quite close, especially in the last set where we actually managed to win many points and take the lead. You can see that the Iranians were stronger, [but the girls] managed to put up a good fight. It is a respectable score against a strong opponent.”

During the match, there were a few occasions when there were communication errors between the Singapore players, leading to the players watching the ball fall without anyone getting to it. Head coach Mr William Chua commented, “I think it is because of the Iranians’ play, their tactics and strategy. It was too fast, so maybe we could not react in time.”

Rachel Lau (Singapore #16) also shared about the team’s performance in the third set. “We could not hold on to that few points. We had always been chasing [after Iran] in the first set, second set. So eventually when it came to the third set, we probably got tired out.”

Coach William was however still satisfied that the players had played up to their standards. He also noted that there were certain areas which he will be focusing on such as blocking before they take on the other Group B teams Macau and Hong Kong.

Earlier on, Hong Kong had thrashed Macau 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-22).

Final Score
Iran 3 Singapore 0
(25-17, 25-20, 25-20)

Watch snippets of the match

Match Statistics [Kills, Blocks, Service Ace]
Lim Chien Wen (Singapore #9) — 2, 5, 2
Rachel Lau (Singapore #16) — 6, 1, 0
Jolly Chan (Singapore #5) — 5, 0, 0
Eleanor Chua (Singapore #1) — 4, 1, 1
Cassandra Tay (Singapore #7) — 4, 0, 0
Ryshire Wu (Singapore #2) — 0, 0, 1

Team Roster (Singapore)
Eleanor Chua (#1), Ryshire Wu (#2), Ong Wei Yu (#3), Hong Jia Yi (#4, Libero), Jolly Chan (#5), Cassandra Tay (#7, Captain), Lim Chien Wen (#9), Pua Le Jie (#10), Claira Ng (#11), Clarrissa Hon (#12), Rachel Lau (#16), Lim Zi Qing (#18)

Starting line-up:
First set: (Iran to serve)
Ong Weiyu (Open Spiker, Position 1), Cassandra Tay (Setter, Position #2), Eleanor Chua (Centre, Position 3), Jolly Chan (Open Spiker, Position 4), Lim Chien Wen (Subset, Position 5), Ryshire Wu (Centre, Position 6)

Second set: (Singapore to serve)
Cassandra Tay (Setter, Position #1), Eleanor Chua (Centre, Position 2), Jolly Chan (Open Spiker, Position 3), Lim Chien Wen (Subset, Position 4), Ryshire Wu (Centre, Position 5), Rachel Lau (Open Spiker, Position 6)

Third set: (Iran to serve)
Rachel Lau (Open Spiker, Position 1), Cassandra Tay (Setter, Position #2), Eleanor Chua (Centre, Position 3), Jolly Chan (Open Spiker, Position 4), Lim Chien Wen (Subset, Position 5), Ryshire Wu (Centre, Position 6)

5-3 (IN: Ong Weiyu OUT: Jolly Chan)
12-4 (IN: Jolly Chan OUT: Ong Weiyu)

Team Roster (Iran)
Taheri Maryam (#13, Libero), Kadkhoda Mahsa (#12), Yektaei Maryam (#1), Ahmadzadeh Zahra (#6), Khaleghi Zoya, Fallah Elham (#4), Hassani Sadi Fatemeh (#10), Mozhdekanloo (#2), Idelkhani Fatemeh, Roosta Mina (#9, Captain), Akbari Zahra (#19), Shafee Shaghayegh, Abbasa Mansoureh (#3), Chamlanani Neda (#8), Kalhor Zahra, Abrishambaf Maryam (#7)

Tournament fixtures (Singapore matches)
Day 2 Tuesday (23/8)
Preliminaries Pool B
3.30pm – Singapore vs Macau

Day 3 Wednesday (24/8)
Preliminaries Pool B
3.30pm – Singapore vs Hong Kong

Day 4 Thursday (25/8)
Semi-finals
2pm – Group A winner vs Group B runner-up
3.30pm – Group B winner vs Group A runner-up

Day 5 Friday (26/8)
Final
2.30pm – Semi-final Winner 1 vs Semi-final Winner 2

Note: All timings reflected are in Vietnam local time. Vietnam is ONE hour BEHIND Singapore.
There will be no 3rd/4th placing playoff.

For more photos, go to the next page.