By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports in Da Nang, Vietnam
Ong Weiyu (Singapore #3) sends the ball through the gap in the Macau block. (Photo 1 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Tien Son Sport Complex, Tuesday, August 23, 2011 — Singapore beat Macau 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-14) in their Group B preliminary match of the Asian Schools Girls Volleyball Championship. Having lost to Iran 0-3 the previous night, this victory over Macau was a much needed one in order to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.
Singapore finished the match with 38 kills, four blocks and 11 service aces. Ong Weiyu (Singapore #3) fronted the Singapore attack as she contributed 11 kills to the team’s total tally. After a dismal performance in the previous match against Iran, she bounced back to emerge as one of the biggest threats as she pounded the Macau defense with her spikes from the outside.
On her performance, a modest Weiyu commented, “[My performance] was alright. I think I was too pressurised yesterday. [But my performance today] has certainly boosted my confidence for tomorrow’s match.”
Singapore got off to a shaky start as Macau ran off to lead 8-1. However, the Republic quickly clawed their way back to level 10-10. Ryshire Wu (Singapore #2) then took the lead for the team after an ace from the service line.
Singapore did not look back after that and raced off to increase their lead. A time-out by Macau at the 19-12 mark could not do much to break the team’s momentum as they continued raking in points.
With Singapore leading 23-16, the team went through a brief spell of errors as they were unable to convert their spikes. A time-out by Singapore head coach Mr William Chua at the 23-18 mark helped get the team back on track as they quickly took set point after a well placed drop shot by setter Cassandra Tay (#7).
Eleanor Chua (Singapore #1) then sealed the set with a quick ball from the centre.
Singapore continued their fine form in the second set as they took an early once again. However, defensive errors in the back row allowed Macau to keep the score close. Macau drew within one point of Singapore at the 10-9 mark after Ryshire (Singapore #2) sent her spike out of bounds.
But there was going to be no chance of Macau leveling the scores as an error in their play allowed Singapore to extend their lead once again. A time-out by Macau at 13-9 could not turn their fortunes around as Singapore continued their scoring streak.
Singapore went into the second technical time-out leading 16-9 after two consecutive service aces from Ryshire Wu (#2).
Leading 23-14, substitute spiker Clarrissa Hon (Singapore #12) took set point for the team after a spike from the outside. Macau then gifted the last point to Singapore after their spike found the net.
The fire in the Singapore team was not extinguished in the third set as they pounded Macau with their attacks. Errors in the Macau camp did not help their cause as they allowed Singapore to further extend their lead.
By the second technical time-out, Singapore were comfortably leading 16-8.
A time-out by Macau at the 19-8 mark could not break Singapore’s momentum, and the Republic soon took set point after a spike from the outside by Weiyu (#4). Weiyu then finished off the match for the team after 1 hour 14 minutes as she fired off an unreturnable spike from the outside.
Said head coach Mr William Chua: “I think that it was a fair result. This was a much needed win for us and I think that the girls knew the importance of this game, which is why you could see all of them giving their best. Of course, we made some errors here and there especially in the first set, but the main thing for us now will be to go back, rest, and prepare ourselves for the crucial match against Hong Kong tomorrow.”
Team captain Cassandra Tay (Singapore #7) also shared her thoughts about today’s game.
“I think that initially, we were very tensed and the morale was very low especially when we were trailing 8-1 in the first set. We underestimated them. When we saw them play, they were actually very good especially their defense. So we were a little scared. Overall, our morale for today was much better. When we were lagging behind, we could get back the points much quicker than yesterday.”
As for what the team will be doing to prepare themselves for tomorrow’s crucial match, she said, “We have a team talk everyday, we talk to each other. We will play mental games, replay the matches in our minds and find ways to calm ourselves down should we be nervous.”
Singapore will face Hong Kong in a do-or-die match at 3.30pm (4.30pm Singapore time). The winner will move on to the semi-finals.
Final Score
Singapore 3 Macau 0
(25-18, 25-15, 25-14)
Watch snippets of the match
Singapore vs Macau - Match Statistics (Singapore team)
| Points scored (Total) | Kills | Hit Errors | Blocks | Block Errors | Service Ace | Service Fault | Defensive Errors | Unforced Errors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ong Weiyu (#3) | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Cassandra Tay (#7) | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Lim Chien Wen (#9) | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Eleanor Chua (#1) | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryshire Wu (#2) | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jolly Chan (#5) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Rachel Lau (#16) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clarrissa Hon (#12) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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: (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), Ong Weiyu (Open Spiker, Position 6)
Second set: (Macau 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)
10-8 (IN: Rachel Lau OUT: Jolly Chan)
23-15 (IN: Clarrissa Hon OUT: Ryshire Wu)
Third 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), Ong Weiyu (Open Spiker, Position 6)
22-13 (IN: Clarrissa Hon OUT: Ryshire Wu )
Team Roster (Macau)
Chang I Lam, Chan Pui U, Ho Chi Kuan, Ng Iok Peng, Leong On Ieng, Lai Carlos Joana, Lai Carlos Sandra, Chan Hoe Kei, Wong Leng, Tam Sin Leng, Pon Gabriela, Chin Cho Weng
Tournament fixtures (Singapore matches)
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.
Setter Cassandra Tay (#7) sets the ball as Ryshire Wu (#2) goes up for a quick ball. (Photo 2 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
For more photos, go to the next page.
hey, in one of the photos, Lai Jun Wei, you stated that ‘Cassandra Tay (Singapore #7) sets backwards to Lim Chien Wen while Ryshire Wu (Singapore #2) acts as a decoy.’ (photo 4) i think it quite bad and inappropriate to use the phrase ‘acts as a decoy’ as it is may have a negative effect on Rayshire, you should change the phrase to a better one. thankyou
Thank you for your feedback.
A decoy is generally known as something which is used to divert the attention of something else. In this case, rather than saying that she went up for a fake, I would rather put it that she acted as a decoy as part of the team’s strategy so that her teammate could attack.
I do not see how this is a negative connotation because this is all part of the team’s play. By drawing the attention of the blockers to her, she might even in turn increase her teammate’s chances at scoring.
In any case, I have just spoken to her and she is fine with this phrase because in her opinion, the centre spiker’s role is to go up for fakes (i.e. act as a decoy).