Top score Poon Pei Jie (Catholic High #1) spikes as Xinmin attempt to block. (Photo 1 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Presbyterian High, Monday, March 19, 2012 — Catholic High pulled off a surprise 2-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-17) win over Xinmin Secondary in their Round Two opening match of the National B Division Boys’ Volleyball Championship.
Xinmin struggled without open spiker Kevin Sia (#3), who was nursing an injury sustained during after an overseas training trip in March, as they succumbed to an in-form Catholic High. Kevin’s presence on court was sorely missed as the team dynamics was significantly affected. Not only were Xinmin unable to break Catholic High’s defenses, they committed several errors in the process.
Catholic High committed a similar number of hit errors as Xinmin, but the team was able to make it up with a substantial number of kills which Xinmin could not match.
Catholic High dominated the scoring tally with 45 points scored via 37 kills, six blocks and two service aces. Xinmin on the other hand managed 34 points with 28 kills, four blocks and two service aces. Poon Pei Jie (Catholic High #1) emerged as the top scorer of the match as he fronted his team’s attack with 17 points scored via 17 kills. Teammate Wayne (#9) was second in line with 11 points via 8 kills, one block and two service aces.
On the Xinmin side, reserve spiker Loke Heng (#18) emerged as his team’s top scorer with nine points score via seven kills, one block and one service ace.
At the start, a spirited Catholic High took control as they raced to a 5-1 lead. Despite Xinmin putting in their best effort to catch up, Catholic High managed to hold on to the lead and pulled ahead to establish a 10-point lead at 20-10.
Xinmin had no choice but to watch on as Catholic High continued their race ahead and the latter were soon at set point after good blocking by Benedict (Catholic High #10).
Xinmin managed to hold off Catholic High for the next two points as Catholic High called a timeout. Upon resumption, Benedict (Catholic High #10) sent his spike out of bounds for the score to stand 24-17. Catholic High finally managed to secure the last point after Anders (Catholic High #15) sent a powerful spike which Benjamin (Xinmin #12) deflected out of bounds.
The second set saw a close start as Xinmin fought hard to keep Catholic High at bay. Despite Catholic High holding the advantage in the first half, Xinmin managed to level the score 13-13 and steal the lead.
The match continued to be a close one as the score was tied at the 17, 18 and 21-point marks.
Xinmin managed to pull a fast one over Catholic High and raced ahead to lead 24-21 after a quick ball by Yi Zheng (#6). Despite Minghwee (Xinmin #7) sending his next serve out of bounds, Yi Zheng (Xinmin #6) secured the final point of the set with another quick ball.
The third set was a hotly contested one as the teams tied the score at the 4, 6, 8 and 10-point marks. Catholic High managed to break free from the stalemate and led 13-10 at the changeover.
Somehow, things went downhill for Xinmin from them on. Not only were they unable to make a comeback, they had to watch haplessly as Catholic High pulled ahead to widen the score gap. Soon, Xinmin were staring at an eight-point deficit as they called a timeout at the 19-11 mark.
Xinmin were unable to reverse their fortunes and despite scoring several points in succession, they could not stop Catholic High from reaching match point after good blocking by Benedict (Catholic High #10). Benedict (Catholic High #10) subsequently took the final point as he sent his spike down side of the Xinmin block for Catholic High to win 25-17.
Xinmin face a tricky fixture down the road as they next play Clementi Town on Wednesday followed by Dunman Secondary on Friday. They will need a convincing win over Clementi Town in order to keep their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive.
Final Score
Catholic High 2 Xinmin 1
25-17, 22-25, 25-17
National B Division Boys’ Volleyball Championship — fixtures and results
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Catholic High vs Xinmin - Match Statistics
| Points scored (Total) | Kills | Hit Errors | Blocks | Block Errors | Service Ace | Service Fault | Defensive Errors | Unforced Errors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic High Team Totals | 45 | 37 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 |
| Pei Jie (#1) | 17 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Wayne (#9) | 11 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Benedict (#10) | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Anders (#15) | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sean (#12) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Aw Shen (#6) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sun Peng (#7, Libero) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3 | 0 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Xinmin Team Totals | 34 | 28 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 9 |
| Loke Heng (#18) | 9 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Minghwee (#7) | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Yi Zheng (#6) | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Benjamin (#12) | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Hongxiang (#2) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Dexuan (#1) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Timothy (#13) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kelvin (#5, Libero) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2 | 2 |
Hongxiang (Xinmin #2) and Loke Heng (#18) watch on as Wayne (Catholic High #9) sends the ball over their block. (Photo 2 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
For more photos, go to the next page.
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