B Div Vball (Girls): Cedar beat Hua Yi to qualify for next round

Ministry of Education Sports & Recreation Club, Thursday, March 3, 2012 — Cedar Girls’ successfully held off Hua Yi Secondary to win 2-0 (25-22, 25-17) in a Group C match at the National B Division Girls’ Volleyball Championship.

Cedar had to come back from behind in the first set to overcome Hua Yi 25-22 before holding off a late challenge by their opponents in the second. They now have two wins under their belt and are assured a place in the second round. Hua Yi end the competition with one win and two losses but still have a mathematical chance at progressing into the next round.

Should Presbyterian High lose both their matches on Monday and Wednesday, Hua Yi, Presbyterian High and St Hilda’s will end with a similar one win, two loss record. Hua Yi will then stand a chance at progressing through should the win-loss coefficient be in their favour.

Cedar and Hua Yi were quite evenly matched with Cedar scoring 27 points via 18 kills, six blocks and three service aces. Hua Yi scored 28 points from 21 kills, three blocks and four service aces but their 17 hit errors as opposed to Cedar’s nine ultimately made the difference in the final score.

Claudia Tan (Cedar #18) emerged as the top scorer of the match with 11 points scored via five kills, three blocks and three service aces. Hua Yi’s Rannie Low (#16) was in second place with eight points scored.

Hua Yi started the match with a service ace from Sonia (#2). They then blitzed ahead to establish a 5-0 lead before Cedar called a timeout.

Cedar were playing a new formation with Gu Ting (#6) filling the role of an open spiker rather than her usual subset position. This unfamiliarity probably contributed to Cedar’s slow start as Gu Ting’s three consecutive spiking errors allowed Hua Yi to lead.

Hua Yi continued forward and soon led 8-0 before Cedar started their comeback. They closed in rapidly and were soon only one point away from Hua Yi. They eventually tied the score 13-13 after good blocking from Claire (Cedar #2).

Cedar then turned the tables on Hua Yi and pulled ahead to lead 15-13.

Hua Yi fought hard to keep the score close, leading the score to be tied at the 15-point and 16-point mark before Cedar broke free. Gu Ting (Cedar #6) appeared to have settled in quickly and overcame her shaky start to score a total of five kills in the set, more than any other player from both teams.

Cedar were soon ahead with a 23-19 lead. Despite Hua Yi managing to close the gap, Cedar were at set point after Ruijia’s (Hua Yi #1) spike went into the net. Ruijia (Hua Yi #1) managed to hold off Cedar at the next rally but the team could not organise a return in the subsequent rally for Cedar to take the set.

The second set saw a close start before Cedar pulled ahead to lead 13-17. A Hua Yi timeout at this point could not stop Cedar from raking more points to lead 17-12. Hua Yi’s combined total of 14 hit, block and defensive errors in the set allowed Cedar a comfortable stay in front.

Despite the score difference, Hua Yi did not give up and continued their chase. Rannie (Hua Yi #16) and Jestlin (#5) stepped up Hua Yi’s attack, posting seven and four kills respectively in the second set.

Hua Yi managed to close in to trail 20-16, but could not overcome Cedar as the latter blitzed ahead once again to lead 23-17.

A foot fault at the centre-line by Hua Yi gave Cedar match point, with Claudia (Cedar #18) taking the last point with a spike down the block for Cedar to win the set 25-17.

Final score
Cedar 2 Hua Yi 0
25-22, 25-17

National B Division Girls’ Volleyball Championship — fixtures and results

Cedar vs Hua Yi - Match Statistics

For more photos, go to the next page.