B Division Girls Volleyball: Jurong defeat defending champions Dunman in first round of nationals

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Presbyterian High School, Monday, February 28, 2011 — Jurong Secondary received a boost in their quest for the title after they defeated Dunman Secondary in their first round Group B match at the National B Division girls’ Volleyball Championship. Dunman, who are the 2010 defending champions and current East Zone champions, lost 0-2 (21-25, 17-25) to Jurong.

In the other Group B match, Xinmin Secondary brushed off Yuying Secondary 2-0 (25-11, 25-12).

It was an exciting start to the match as both teams fired off their attacks early. Jurong, the West Zone runners-up, gained a slight advantage as they took an early 6-3 lead, but Dunman were quick to expose a weak link in Jurong’s defenses as Ong Weiyu (Dunman #3) quickly sent her spikes to the zone one position in Jurong’s court.

Jurong however, were determined to keep Dunman at bay. Tan Libing (Jurong #9) delivered several powerful spikes to keep the team in the lead, but it was not before long when Dunman nullified Jurong’s lead to tie 12-12.

Lim Ziqing (Jurong #8) then took the lead back for her team with a spike from the centre to the right corner, and the match subsequently becoming a much tighter affair.

Rachel Lau (Jurong #12) seemed to lack her usual strength and her spikes were not making their mark as they usually were. This gave Dunman an advantage as they found ways to keep up the pressure on Jurong. Jurong would pull ahead to lead, only for Dunman to draw level. This happened on several occasions, with Jurong finally calling for a time out at the 20-20 mark after a Jurong serve found the net.

This time round, Jurong cut out the mistakes that were plaguing their game as they made a final push. They held Dunman at the 20-point mark while they slowly approached set point. Two timeouts by Dunman at the 22-20 and 24-20 marks were not able to stop Jurong, and the latter took home the first set after Weiyu’s (Dunman #3) spike went out of bounds.

With their morale and confidence boosted from their win in the first set, Jurong went all out to replicate their results in the second set. They blitzed off to lead 8-3, prompting Dunman to call for a timeout. Jurong were on a high as they continued to work on their lead while Dunman struggled to receive the first serves. Dunman were certainly a shadow of their previous selves as they were finding trouble at making a mark on the scoreboard.

Jurong’s players were, on the other hand, well on form, and pounded Dunman with all their might. Rachel (Jurong #12), who had quickly regained her footing in the second set, also started taking points for the team. Soon, Jurong were in a strong position with a 17-10 lead. Filled with confidence, Jurong did not let anything stand in their way as they blitzed ahead to further increase their lead to 21-11.

Dunman however, were not going to concede easily as they put together a six-point streak with Weiyu (Dunman #3) contributing several powerful spikes. Their streak was unfortunately broken when a fast spike by the Dunman #1 went out of bounds.

Jurong took this break in their favour and turned around to take the next point points, with match point won after a light serve by Libing (Jurong #9). Jurong then celebrated their victory in an ecstatic manner after Rachel (Jurong #12) sealed the last point when her spike from the outside was blocked out of bounds by the Dunman #6.

Having defeated what would have seemed to be the toughest opponent in their group, Jurong are now in the driving seat to qualify for the second round. Dunman on the other hand, will have to beat Xinmin Secondary and Yuying Secondary to ensure qualification.

Final Score
Jurong 2 Dunman 0
(25-21, 25-17)

For more photos, go to the next page.