Story by Jiexin Neo/Red Sports. Photos by Rebekah Abbott/Red Sports
Dennis Lim (SHS #7) spikes the ball against Ong Chu Yao (DMN #9) and Lim Chun Ming (DMN #12). (Photo 1 © Rebekah Abbott/Red Sports)
Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Friday, April 11, 2014 — St. Hilda’s Secondary (SHS) defeated Dunman Secondary (DMN) 3–0 (20–25, 17–25, 11–25) to win the final of the B Division Boys Volleyball Championship.
St. Hilda’s were beaten by Dunman in the East Zone final. The two teams last met in their final group game in the nationals, where St. Hilda’s won 2–0 to top the group.
John Nazz (DMN #4) used a strong spike to take the first point of the game. However, then on Dunman struggled to get the ball across to their opponents’ side as St. Hilda’s retaliated with a strong wall of defence at the net. Maguire Ong (SHS #1) and Marc Lee (SHS #4) were especially outstanding with their well-timed defensive blocks.
Dunman were trailing 15–23 in the first set, when Ong Chu Yao (DMN #9) and John (DMN #4) executed impressive blocks to stop St. Hilda’s scoring streak. Dunman grabbed four points straight to go to 19–23, but their position rotations were not fluid enough towards the end. They also made several defensive mistakes which allowed St. Hilda’s to take down the first set 25–20.
Dunman’s defensive mistakes at the start of the second set gave St. Hilda’s an early 4–0 lead. John (DMN #4) made it 1–4 when his well-placed spike was unattended by St. Hilda’s defence. John (DMN #4) was key for Dunman as he paced his team offensively with strong and short spikes. Despite that, St. Hilda’s dominated with good team display and were leading 20–15 when Clement Tan (SHS #12) executed a feint and Trevis Tan (SHS #5) followed up with a spike to make it 21–15. They repeated the feint to secure another point (22–15). Leo Ding Wei (DMN #11)’s two spikes in a row reduced the deficit to 17–22. However, St. Hilda’s strong team effort allowed them to seize the second set 25–17.
Early in the third set, Dunman found fault again with their rotations during plays and failed to communicate well on court. This gave St. Hilda’s an early build-up of points (8–2) and some breathing room over their opponents. Ajay Singh Shergill (SHS #9) and Clement Tan (SHS #12) stepped up on their defence in this set to execute consecutive blocks, denying Dunman’s attacks one after another. Dunman struggled to get the ball beyond the net. Ajay (SHS #9) also timed his spikes well this set, and his strong spiking added many points for his team.
Towards the end, St. Hilda’s executed two spikes in a row to close the third set with a 25–11 lead to emerge champions. They took down all three sets to dominate Dunman 3–0, defending their championship title.
Dunman’s captain, Kenneth (#3), said, “I think we tried our best. They really outperformed us just now.”
St. Hilda’s captain, Dennis (#7), said, “I think the feeling of having defended our title is very exciting. This is because Dunman beat us in the East Zone final. So in the nationals, we really wanted to beat them. One thing we did today, is that we did not give up. Some of us have injures so we have to endure with the pain. But we enjoyed the process, because we’ve been winning 2–0 in the group games in the nationals, and 3–0.”
Scoring by Set
DMN vs SHS
1st set: 20–25
2nd set: 17–25
3rd set: 11–25
Dunman Secondary Roster
Jeryl Seah (#1), Sherman Toh (#2), Kenneth Lek (#3), John Nazz A Gayamo (#4), Han Wee Kwang (#5), Darren Chiw (#7), Jarren Leo (#8), Ong Chu Yao (#9), Alden Lim (#10), Leo Ding Wei (#11), Lim Chun Ming (#12), Lim Teng Fong (#13), Lim Ngee Feng (#14), George Goh (#18)
St. Hilda’s Secondary Roster
Maguire Ong (#1), Travis Ang (#2), Wong Zhi Yuan (#3), Marc Lee Kang Yue (#4), Trevis Tan (#5), Darrek Yeo (#6), Dennis Lim (#7), Tian Seet Khuen (#8), Ajay Singh Shergill (#9), Jonathan Goh Qing Yan (#10), Louis Tong (#11), Clement Tan (#12), Nicholas Kiu (#13), Aloysius Neo (#14)
B Division Boys Volleyball Championship — Fixtures and Results
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