A Division Girls’ Volleyball: Nanyang JC dethrone defending champions Hwa Chong Institution to win final after one year hiatus

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Wednesday, May 11, 2011 — Nanyang Junior College (NYJC) have emerged as champions of the A Division Girls’ Volleyball Championship after they dethroned defending champion Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-9) at the championship final. Having beaten HCI once in the quarter-finals, NYJC repeated this feat of felling the “All-Star team” to earn honours for 2011 as well as prevent HCI from achieving ‘double champions’ in the A Division. HCI had held the trophy since 2006 until an early exit in 2009 saw NYJC take the championship trophy in 2009. After failing to make the top four last year, NYJC saw the crown return back to HCI. However with this year’s triumph, the trophy will now return back home to NYJC.

Chan Jia En (NYJC #2) led the scoring with 19 kills throughout the match. Her scoring spurt in the third set helped anchor NYJC to the win, ultimately bringing the championship trophy back home to NYJC after a one year hiatus.

The first set started off closely with NYJC in the lead. HCI had difficulty settling in, allowing NYJC to run off with the lead midway. With NYJC leading 17-13, HCI promptly called for a time-out. This could not break NYJC’s momentum and HCI had to settle on watching NYJC continue pulling ahead. With Jia En (NYJC #2) and Jody Lim (NYJC #9) in the front court, they had no difficulty securing point after point, with Jia En (NYJC #2) taking set point after a powerful spike. Jody (NYJC #9) then secured the last point for the team after her spike from the opposite corner caught HCI off guard, with the latter being unable to return.

The second set was a very much different affair. A rejuvenated HCI stormed off to an early lead to leave NYJC trailing 5-10. A time-out call by NYJC was able to help the team reorganise but were kept on HCI’s heel for most of the game. HCI were keeping the pressure up, forcing NYJC to scramble about to rescue their shots. NYJC did not have a spectacular set as well as they had 15 unforced errors throughout.

At the 12-15 mark, NYJC gained a morale booster after a spectacular save by Lyvia Loh (NYJC #8) and setter Ang Xue Er (#11). Both players had risked injury to rescue a loose shot, with Xue Er (#11) almost tripping over Lyvia and crashing into the team bench. Jody (NYJC #9) took the opportunity to spike the ball past HCI blocker Lenis Phoa (#3) into an empty spot, triggering loud cheers from the grandstands.

As NYJC kept up their chase, they soon saw their efforts pay off as they came within one point of HCI after a service ace by Amanda Tng (NYJC #10). Despite a time-out call by HCI, they could not stop the latter from levelling the score 18-18 after Jia En (NYJC #2) stuffed out a spike by Eleanor Chua (HCI #1) from the outside. Cheryl Chan (HCI #2) however took the lead back for HCI after a well placed drop shot. HCI then managed to extend their lead further after NYJC sent a return out of bounds. A time-out call by NYJC at this point allowed the players to collect themselves and snatch the set away from HCI. Despite HCI commanding a crucial lead, NYJC eventually nullified the score gap at the 23-23 mark after Jody (NYJC #9) managed to block a loose shot from HCI. Jody (NYJC #9) then helped the team go one up after spiking off the HCI block to take set point. NYJC then finished off their comeback for the set as they seal the last point after Lenis (HCI #3) was unable to set the ball across.

In the third set, NYJC were all fired up as they charged ahead to command a 5-0 lead. Their scoring streak was momentarily broken after a spike from Cheryl (HCI #2), but HCI’s woes continued as they raked in point after point. Jia En (NYJC #2) was on fire as she pounded HCI with her attacks to score several points for the team consecutively. HCI also seemed like a shadow of their previous self as they slowly crumbled under the NYJC attack. Soon, it became evident that it was no longer a matter of if, but a matter of when, as NYJC blitzed towards the finish. By the second HCI time out, NYJC were holding onto a massive 18-4 lead. Despite a comeback attempt, HCI were unable to achieve this herculean feat and went down to NYJC 25-7.

HCI were certainly very different from their performance at the semi-finals as they came short in their attack. Throughout the match, they only managed 21 kills whereas NYJC put up more than double that number with 43 kills. NYJC also had six service aces for the match compared to one from HCI. In terms of unforced errors, both teams were quite on par as NYJC had 26 unforced errors while HCI had 24 errors.

Final score
NYJC 3 HCI 0
25-17, 25-22, 25-9

Key Statistics [Kills, Blocks, Unforced errors, Service Aces]
Chan Jia En (NYJC #2) — [19, 1, 5, 1]
Jody Lim (NYJC #9) — [11, 4, 5, -]
Eleanor Chua (HCI #1) — [5, 3, 4,-]

NYJC Team Roster
Iris Teng Swee Ting (#1), Chan Jia En (#2), Poo Hui Jie (#3), Chan Yong Ern Melinda (#6, Libero), Cynthia Lai Wan Ni (#7, Libero), Lyvia Loh Li Xuan (#8), Lim Chien Wen (#9), Amanda Tng Rui Pin (#10), Ang Xue Er (#11, Captain), Nur Syathiran Binte Sunaryo (#12), Tan Xin Lerk (#15), Samantha Tan Yifen (#17)

HCI Team Roster
Eleanor Chua Chih Yin (#1), Cheryl Chan Cai Ting (#2), Lenis Phoa Chien (#3), Chan Chu Ning (#4), Lydia Seah Kai Yun (#5), Cassandra Tay Hwee Min (#7, Captain), Wong Jing Wen Hazel (#8), Kong Xin Ni (#9), Kelly Febrina Jie (#12), Adeline Tan Si Ling (#15), Ng Wei Ting Stephanie (#17, Libero), Jaime Lee Jia Xin (#18)

For more photos, go to the next page.