Story by Jiexin Neo/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck and Clara Yuan/Red Sports
Lim Zi Yang (NYJC #4) spikes against Tan Kiat Hwe (VJC #7). NYJC won the match 3–1 to defend their National A Division Volleyball Championship title. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
Toa Payoh Indoor Sports Hall, Wednesday, May 14, 2014 — Nanyang Junior College (NYJC) brought down Victoria Junior College (VJC) 3–1 (21–25, 25–21, 25–16, 25–21) to retain their National A Division Boys Volleyball Championship title.
Both teams last met in the second round, where NYJC went down 1–2 to VJC. NYJC are the defending champions, while VJC did not make it into the top four last year.
Shen Fan Yang’s (NYJC #1) well-timed block at the net clinched the first point for NYJC. Lim Zi Yang (NYJC #4) then made two consecutive spikes to push NYJC’s lead to 3–0. After a timeout, VJC came back into the game more focused and coordinated well on defence to level at 13–13. They brought the tie to 16–16. Thereafter, Leung Lok Heng (VJC #15) paced his team with constant strong spikes to pull away from NYJC. VJC were leading 24–21, and Chew Sze Lin’s (VJC #8) unattended spike iced the first set 25–21.
An early scoring outburst in the second set gave VJC an 8–2 lead. Lok Heng (VJC #15) played a huge part in that as his spikes mostly went unattended. From then on, Fan Yang (NYJC #1) launched strong spikes onto his opponents’ court, securing crucial points for his side to eventually draw even at 12–12. NYJC and VJC then matched each other point for point until it was tied at 18–18. Tan Li Hao (VJC #10) displayed diligent defensive efforts but it was not enough to stop NYJC. Zi Yang’s (NYJC #4) strong attacks towards the end clinched the first win for NYJC (25–21).
In the third set, Tan Kiat Hwe (VJC #7) played a well-rounded game for his side as he made good spike blocks and was strong on attacks. VJC led early into the set, but Fan Yang (NYJC #1) paced his team offensively to eventually level at 13–13 with VJC. Fan Yang (NYJC #1) continued to put in an impressive game, launching strong spikes onto the VJC court which were difficult to dive for. With that, NYJC secured their second win of 25–16.
NYJC looked for another win in the fourth set, with Fan Yang (NYJC #1) being a huge threat with his dominant offensive plays as VJC could not seem to block his attacks. NYJC attained a 8-point lead midway through the game (19–11). VJC however refused to give in and continued chasing the points under Kiat Hwe’s (VJC #7) lead. Li Hao (VJC #10) also stepped up his game to make good drives and spikes. With that, they outscored NYJC 10–4 to reduce the deficit and trailed 21–23.
Thereafter, Fan Yang (NYJC #1) spiked to an uncovered area on VJC’s court to push NYJC’s lead to 24–21, and were looking at a point to close the set. In response to a spike made by VJC, Alvin Ong (#9) and Leow Xiang Kai (#11) coordinated well to successfully block off VJC’s attempt at the net, ending it 25–21 for NYJC to emerge champions.
NYJC captain, Fan Yang (#1), said, “The game was really tough, really intense. We had like a shadow over us, as they defeated us before. It was quite hard for us to come into this game as because we lost them once. So we went back and trained, and prepared ourselves mentally. We were determined but it wasn’t an easy journey for us. We were close to defeat by AJ, and also lost 2–1 to VJ. But it actually spurred us on to train harder. It was a good game today.”
NYJC admin-captain, Jun Hao (#18), added, “It’s lucky that we lost to them, because thanks to them we went back and trained more.” Fan Yang (#1) said, “We realized we had many loopholes in our formations. So it actually woke us up. It’s a wake up call. I want to thank our teachers and supporters.”
Scoring by Set
NYJC vs VJC
1st set: 21–25
2nd set: 25–21
3rd set: 25–16
4th set: 25–21
Nanyang Junior College Roster
Shen Fan Yang (#1), Sim Chee Ann (#3), Lim Zi Yang (#4), Leonard Tan Li Zhou (#6), Ong Wei Xiang (#7), Tan Yi Liang (#8), Ong Wei Siang Alvin (#9), Viresh Krishnan Sukumar (#10), Leow Xiang Kai (#11), Danish Haziq B Saarin (#13), Chong Xuan Li (#14), Paul Tan Ming-En (#17), Ng Jun Hao (#18)
Victoria Junior College Roster
Shum Wen Ping (#2), Marcus Aw Yu Kian (#3), Tan Kiat Hwe (#7), Chew Sze Lin (#8), Tan Yong Hao Glen (#9), Tan Li Hao (#10), Foo Jyh Hean (#11), Tiew Wei Chong Timothy (#13), Tan Jun Jie Nigel (#14), Leung Lok Heng (#15), Tan Rui Shuen (#17), Tan Xiang Hao (#18)
More photos next page
Hey there! I think you guys have done a great job of covering the games so keep it up! Hope to join yall one day in the future 🙂
Anyway, just a suggestion, i feel it is kinda tedious to view the photos one Redsports as the pics are all on individual pages. Maybe you could consider changing to a gallery or panel like view where you could view all the images from each event in one page. Makes it a lot easier and less of a put off to view. Dont let your own great effort go to waste :))
Thanks for the feedback, Joachim. Yes, I know what you mean.
The file sizes for the photos are quite large so we didn’t want the page to take forever to load which is also annoying for readers. That’s why we put them on individual pages.
If we use a gallery or panel, we can’t caption them the way we do currently. So that’s why we choose to do it this way. We don’t like to upload photos without captions because we want to give the players the courtesy of a caption with their names.
The photos are very poor. Hardly any photos are as strong as i though redsports would take. Please hire a better photographer or step up
Your comment is puzzling to me because I think the photos are good.
At Red Sports, readers can contribute their stories or photos.
If you think you’re a better photographer, feel free to send your photos along of this game and we’ll be happy to post them.
There are always better photographers than us out there.
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for your kind compliments.
If you think they are poor, perhaps you could advice me and Clara on how best to capture the game better.
We’re all still learning how to take better pictures, and of course, understand the concepts of the game better as well.
And well, if you wouldn’t mind, probably I could learn from you too. 🙂
If you deem yourself better, and if you could take better shots, why not join us at Red Sports? 🙂
Best,
Yong Teck
Red Sports
Hi Cheryl,
On your own token, perhaps you would like to “step up” and show us all how it should be done?
I am just thankful that there is coverage of school sports which was non-existent during my school days.
Dear Red Sports,
Thank you for the good effort. I am really thankful to have a channel to keep tabs on my alma mater.
Cheers.